Blakeman backs tax freeze

Continued from Page 6

Other details, such as the fate of the longstanding Nassau Coliseum, have yet to be decided on.

Blakeman went more in-depth on what would warrant approval for the Sands’ proposal.

“It must be world-class with a luxury hotel and entertainment component…it must bring significant revenue to the county and surrounding areas, including construction and permanent jobs… and it must have the support of the community,” Blakeman said. “We will continue to explore this possibility and we’ll keep county residents informed throughout the process.”

Patterson told Blank Slate Media last month the company has a self-imposed April 1 deadline to have the application completed and be ready to go before the state.

Incentivizing Nassau residents and outsiders to patronize local businesses, Blakeman said, is something his administration wants to do more of this year.

“To keep costs low, especially for our seniors, veterans and young people, my administration is focused on expanding the tax base, driving local economic activity and bring some and bringing some of the biggest and most prestigious companies in the world,” he said.

Blakeman also lauded the work of the Nassau County Police Department for working to combat the increased catalytic converter thefts this year. Blakeman said police have seized thousands of catalytic converters, stolen for their precious metals, and $7 million from an organized crime ring.

The county executive also said he was pleased to agree on a new contract with Nassau’s Police Benevolent Association last month.

The $170 million agreement will run retroactively from Jan. 1, 2018 until July 1, 2026 and increase the top base pay for officers from $122,000 to $141,000. The agreement will also increase the starting pay for new officers from $35,000 to

$37,333.

“I was proud to work with PBA President Tommy Shevlin to approve a new contract for the PBA that adequately that adequately compensates police officers for their service while protecting taxpayers’ wallets,” Blakeman said.

The contract also increases pay by 15% during the duration and includes nearly $6,500 in stipends for officers with six years of service and $3,750 stipends for those with 15 years of service, according to legislative documents. It was approved by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority two weeks ago.

Both Blakeman and DeRiggi-Whitton expressed their concerns about drug epidemics, mainly fentanyl, though the two presented different ways to combat it in Nassau County.

Blakeman urged federal officials to crack down on the United States border patrol, noting that the approved county budget includes $15 million to address the local issue per year over the next four years.

“I have met with far too many parents who have lost loved ones to the disease of addiction,” Blakeman said. “It has to stop and that starts with securing our border while we work.”

DeRiggi-Whitton implored Blakeman to provide the necessary financial aid to families and other organizations to mitigate the number of deaths caused by drugs and opioids each year.

“Two recommendations are one, more long-term care options beyond standard 28-day programs traditionally offered by treatment centers; and two, better access to mental health care counseling,” the legislator said.

DeRiggi-Whitton also urged Blakeman to address other issues the minority caucus views as important, such as banning the littering of cannabis, forming a public committee to figure out the spending of Nassau’s $300 million in American Rescue Plan aid and developing an in-house team of cybersecurity experts.

Continued from Page 10 and using every tool in the toolbox in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste that we all generate.”

One of the highest priority recommendations in the report is to reduce waste output to begin with.

“Nothing would make me happier if our garbage trucks didn’t have to go up and down the street every day to pick up trash,” Flower said. “They’ll probably have to go up and down the street every day to pick up recyclables, but I’m OK with that.”

Along with advocating for zero waste practices, Winters Bros. is supporting and pushing for legislation in the New York state government to encourage increased recycling.

Two measures of particular interest include minimum content legislation and revising the bottle bill. Minimum content legislation would require manufacturers to use no less than a designated amount of recycled material in their packaging or their products.

The bottle bill was passed in the 1980s as a way to reduce litter, and now it’s out of date and “antiquated,” Flower explained. Winters Bros.’ State of Waste report recommends increasing the bottle deposit cost to 10 cents per bottle and including wine and spirit bottles, which are not currently covered in the program.

Another priority defined in the report is investing in the infrastructure needed to transport waste off the island. Garbage trucks produce large amounts of emissions and increase traffic on the highways, so Winters Bros. recommends expanding rail infrastructure to allow for a low-carbon option of transporting the waste.

With infrastructure comes the discussion of environmental justice and how the placement of the necessary railways and transfer stations would affect the surrounding area and its citizens.

“When you talk about the infrastructure, you have to also start looking at these issues of environmental justice to make sure you’re putting these facilities in an area which doesn’t create a burden on anyone,” Flower said. “And when I say anyone, I don’t care if you’re Black, white or purple, these facilities shouldn’t burden anyone.”

He also recognized that many of the solutions require publicprivate partnership, which can be difficult to achieve.

“It’s easy to write recommendations. And it’s easy to advocate for recommendations,” Flower said. “The actual execution of these recommendations is always the heavy lift, and it certainly does require cooperation.”

Yet, he felt hopeful that it could be done to handle the closure of the Brookhaven Landfill and still continue providing efficient waste management.

“Over the past 20 years, I think municipalities and regulators and the private sector, along with planners and units of local government, have done a much better job working together to create this system where services are provided,” Flower said.

“Nobody really thinks about [waste management] because it just goes to this place called ‘away,’ and and our job is to ensure that that we continue to have a place to go to that is cost effective and environmentally sound,” he concluded. “It’s a challenge that can be overcome, but it requires a whole lot of moving parts, and that’s what we spend our days working on.