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Vol. l I No. XXVI | www.StandardLI.com d d | News@standardli.com d dl | Ph.# h 516-341-0445
SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2011
MANGANO PLANNING TO LAYOFF 1,000 WORKERS, AND SLASH $63 MILLION
KOPEL WORKING TO OVERHAUL TAX ASSESSMENT ERRORS, REFUNDS By JONATHAN WALTER Standard Staff Reporter Howard Kopel is keeping his campaign promise to reform the Nassau County Tax Assessment System. In a flyer sent out to homes within his district, Kopel says that 46 percent of every dollar in county debt is due to tax assessment errors and his plan will drastically reduce that. Currently, homeowners file tax grievances before paying their assessment, but don’t have the grievances resolved until afterward. This leads to Nassau County having to borrow money in order to pay back refunds. The county must pay back 100 percent of refunds to the taxpayers, despite only 17 percent of taxes being attributable to Nassau, with 83 percent being attributed to other municipalities and governments. Kopel’s proposed reform would instead settle tax grievances before taxpayers have to pay their assessments so that no refunds or borrowing is necessary. “With this plan, no one has to get a refund,” Kopel said. “You save a lot of time and a lot of money and everyone is happy. It’s just a win in so many different ways. You can’t solve every case like that because sometimes one side is going to be unreasonable. It happens. You really have to make a serious effort and that hasn’t been happening in recent years.” Reforms enacted in 2010 include freezing residential assessments for four years, ending the payment of refunds for municipalities during the 2013/2014 year, ending the borrowing of money to pay refunds in 2011, and reducing this year’s refund-debt accrual by $28 million through the new Residential Tax Grievance Negotiation and Settlement Program which gives participants a reduced tax bill instead of a refund check. Democratic Legislator
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By JONATHAN WALTER Standard Staff Reporter Over 1000 Nassau County jobs will be lost if County Executive Edward Mangano’s new budget plan passes. Also meeting the ax are non-revenue generating county museums and requiring county workers to pay 25 percent towards their healthcare coverage. Mangano’s budget cutting efforts this fiscal year have already seen the demise of 300 county jobs. Mangano’s proposed spending plan for 2012 totals $2.64 billion, $63 million less than the current budget. According to Mangano, it will mark the first time in a generation that a budget will be less than the previous year’s budget. Mangano submitted his plan to the Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) on Thursday. NIFA took over county finances in March and ordered the county to take proper action to eliminate a possible $310 million budget gap for 2012.
Bulldogs Slay Knights Hewlett quarterback Mark Rizzo tries to move the pile on a run up the middle during Hewlett’s 24-0 victory over the Floral Park Knights on Saturday at Hofstra University. See complete coverage on Page A6. Photo by Jonathan Walter
Solemn Commemoration of 9-11 Held in Cedarhurst
Ed Mangano my budget reduces the county workforce by over 1,000 positions.” Mangano also announced changes in the Nassau County Police Department, with officers being moved from desks and onto the streets. “This program enhanc-
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Atlantic Beach Parents Upset Over Late School Bus Service
BY Natasha M. Velez Five Towners haven’t forgotten, and it was evident as they filled Andrew J. Parise Park on Sunday for the Cedarhurst 9-11 Memorial Service. The tragic event that lingers fresh in the minds of residents, resurfaced as local clergymen, town officials, legislators and residents joined to pay tribute to fallen heroes in the Five Towns. The Lawrence Philharmonic Orchestra performed a rendition of the “National Anthem” sang by Katy Miller, a Lawrence High School senior. The Lawrence Acapella Choir and the Lawrence High School Color Guard also participated. Senator Dean Skelos who was a guest speaker at the memorial said, “We need to reflect on the greatness of our country and where we are today. It’s not about being black, white or Lati-
“My budget tackles labor costs head on by implementing common-sense reforms that produce $210 million in reoccurring savings,” Mangano said. “Through layoffs and attrition,
BY SUSAN VARGHESE Standard Associate Editor
If you’re a resident of Atlantic Beach, your kids may not have to worry about missing the bus -- the bus may miss them. According to parents at the Lawrence School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, their kids have been arriving late to school from what appears to be miscalculated bus routes. One resident, Andrew from Atlantic Beach, who has four students in the district, noted a problem with his kids’ transportation. “…I have two students in Lawrence Middle School, and what I can tell you is that three days out of the four first days of school, my children are arriving at school 10 to 15 minutes late every morning. Not only is it disruptive to my children, and to others… I have to imagine it would be disruptive to the teachers and the students that are in the classroom.” The problem isn’t as simple as a traffic delay, though. Andrew added, “The bus driver had told myself and numerous other families in Atlantic Beach that it’s physically impossible for
Five Town residents bowed their heads in prayer and paid tribute to the fallen heroes who lost their lives on 9-11.
Photo by Natasha M. Velez no. It’s about being an American today. We are blessed to be in the best country in the world.” The memorial and concert ceremony was sponsored by the Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire De-
partment, the Lawrence School District, the fourth precinct of the Nassau County Police Department, the Town of Hemp-
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Savoring the Last Weekend at the Beach By Scott P. Moore Standard Staff Reporter Ravaged by Hurricane Irene only a weekend before, many beach clubs along the Atlantic Beach shoreline kept their cabana doors open to give their guests one last opportunity to enjoy a weekend at the beach before the summer sun set for good this past weekend. “We managed to get almost everything back open… it was a huge effort on the part of our staff,” said Mark Raab, manager of New Plaza Beach Club. “It was disgusting here after Irene. This thick, black seafoam covered everything.” The damage was noticeable — contrasting with the clear skies and bright sunlight were many of the cabanas underneath the boardwalk rendered unusable by flood waters and wave action. The kiddie pool was left with at least a foot of sand and debris. Raab said the beach club would do everything it could to make sure it is back to normal when the
season reopens next year. “We thought staying open an extra week would be good will towards our customers,” he said. “We know a lot of people from the city are still having trouble getting here.” While New Plaza seemed to be open like any other day during the summer with guests filling many of the cabanas, the scene on the beach was completely different. Only a few beach chairs scattered the sands while lifeguards sat under an umbrella at ground level, their guard tower still standing but broken when it was carried by Irene’s waves into the boardwalk. Beach-goers were even more sparse, with only 10 or so people in the waters in and around New Plaza and nearby clubs. “We’re going boogie boarding,” said Bree Corbett of Long Beach who was at Atlantic Beach with family and friends. “[Hurricane] Katia is giving us some nice waves and we’ve got this extra weekend, so The sand at New Plaza Beach Club was nearly bereft of people last Saturday afternoon.
Photo by Scott P. Moore.
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C l a s s i f i e d s B 8 • E d i t o r i a l s A 8 • M i l k T r a c k e r A 2 • M o v i e s B 6 • S p o r t s A 6 , A & & A 1 0 • We a t h e r A 5