Tired of High Property Taxes?
Then Join the Nassau County Government Efficiency Project.
The Nassau County Government Efficiency Project’s goal is to reduce Nassau County’s enormous tax burden by eliminating or consolidating wasteful and dysfunctional Special Taxing Districts countywide.
Join us in our effort to lower your property taxes.
Click here to send us a message, or to join our mailing list.
TAKE ACTION!
Contact your local elected official and tell them
you want Special District Reform this year!
Click here for sample letters
Click here to locate your State Assembly member
Click here to locate your State Senator
What are Special Districts?:
As suburban sprawl began on Long Island and elsewhere in New York State, miniature taxing fiefdoms called Special Districts were put together because, at the time, municipal governments did not have the infrastructure to handle the growing need to provide adequate sanitation, sewer, water, and other services.
Because Nassau County has the distinction of being the first truly suburban region in the United States, its political structure has lead itself to Special Districts spreading to pandemic proportions. Currently, Nassau County is criss-crossed with hundreds of small independent government entities that provide various services. In many cases, homes on the same block, or even across the street from one another are part of different districts that provide various services, and as a result pay different tax rates for essentially the same services.
These districts, whose “affected areas” range in size from a few hundred homes to tens of thousands, have ability to collect tax dollars at whatever rate they wish to charge- usually between 25 to 50% higher than standard rates charged by the towns. To date, there is very little, if any, direct government oversight over how they conduct their business. The result of this is often corruption, patronage, and a complete lack of transparency. In Nassau County, audits and published reports have shown that many, if not the majority, of Special District employees and commissioners make salaries that far exceed, and often double the market rate, or the rate that towns and villages pay for the same services.
Many Special District employees receive health benefits for part-time positions. Moreover, there are numerous accounts of employees receiving absurd perks, such as free automobiles, free houses and free dental work- all paid for at taxpayer expense. Recently, it has been documented that Special Districts have been hiring lobbyists, whose stipends are also paid for entirely with taxpayer dollars.
For more information on the abuses of Special Districts,
click here to read the “20 Horrors of Special Taxing Districts.”
In many cases, Special Districts elect their commissioners. However, these “elections” are usually held at odd hours, in inaccessible places, and are not advertised to the public. Research indicates that on average, 1-3% of eligible voters usually participate in these elections. In many cases, the boards who govern these districts do not represent the entirety of their districts. The boards of many districts, sanitation districts in particular, do not have members that represent districts of color and developing areas. As a result, it is the poor who often suffer the most.
In response to a 2008 law passed by the New York State Legislature that mandates that Special Districts post vital information about their finances on the internet, it is reported that many districts took down their web pages rather than comply with the law. This is just one example of the lengths that these commissioners will go to preserve this culture of corruption.
Join us in our effort to lower your property taxes.
Click here to send us a message, or to join our mailing list.
Our Position on Special Districts:
Nassau county residents have the dubious distinction of having the second highest property taxes in the nation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We could easily save millions of dollars every year if we consolidated special taxing districts’ administrative “back office” functions such as insurance, payroll and purchasing. We could save millions more if public services, like water and sanitation were integrated into county or town-wide entities.
We lend our resources, experience and support to any legislation that will effectively streamline, reform or consolidate these wasteful districts. We support measures that will allow for the power to consolidate these districts to be placed in the hands of citizens and municipal governments. We support measures that will eliminate exorbitant compensation for district employees, and will finally bring an end to generations of corruption and patronage in Nassau County.
We promote grassroots organizing and education for constituents, and support all like-minded citizens and organizations in their efforts to reach out to their elected officials in efforts to further the cause of consolidation.
Given the current fiscal climate, our elected officials must follow the will of the people who elect them, and pass legislation that will ease the massive property tax burden that is felt by all Nassau County residents, and many others statewide.
Join us in our effort to lower your property taxes.
Click here to send us a message, or to join our mailing list.
