Introduction
Through the initiatives of local residents and Newsday, the issue of abuse by special taxing districts have been brought into the spotlight, and the constant barrage of abuses by these districts has been highlighted by Newsday, Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman and others The attention that the special districts were given lead to a New York State and Nassau County Commissions which researched the problems and recommended solutions.
One solution was to allow residents and local governments to consolidate. This solution was made into Legislation which NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo created and had the Governor sign into law in the Spring of 2009. The "New NY Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act"- will forever ease the process by which citizens, towns and counties can explore the idea of consolidating, streamlining or reforming local governments. The Nassau County Government Efficiency Project was a leading voice statewide in the championing of this legislation.
Long Islanders have long suffered from the crippling taxes burden that has come from, among other things, the existence of Special Taxing Districts. The reform of these often dysfunctional districts would lead to considerable savings for taxpayers across Long Island. In order to make this law successful and useful, citizens need the tools so they can run their own petition campaign which is why the Nassau County Government Efficiency Project created the Citizens Guide to Consolidation.
This "Citizen's Guide" is intended to build upon the existing resources provided by the New York State Attorney General's Office, and offer a guide to consolidation or dissolution that is Long Island specific in nature. This guide breaks down the specific districts that are most notorious for abuses, and the inherent problems one might face when choosing to take action to reform them, as well as the tools that are need to run a successful petition campaign.
