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Post by techie on Dec 6, 2005 22:51:32 GMT -5
FROM THE SCHOOL'S WEB SITEhttp://www.http://plainedgeschools.org============================================ Frank Presuto Named To Board of EducationBoard of Education The Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Frank Presuto to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Thomas Dick. Mr. Presuto will serve until the end of June.Correction: Mr. Presuto will serve until the May election.Posted by jrichman on Wednesday, November 09 @ 16:07:17 EST (92 reads) (Read More... | Score 0) ============================================ This post originally read,"will serve untill the end of June 2005." The "2005" part was what was commented on earlier in the posts. "Mr. Numbers" has corrected the year and the term of office, for this, a heartfilled thank you! ;D Go to the meetings and get the write, no, rite, no that's not it,..... correct numbers! Peace Out..........................
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Post by Go Plainedge! on Dec 7, 2005 9:32:52 GMT -5
Now, if they could put the minutes in chronological order, show Mr. Presuto as a board member, remove Tom Dick as president and list Rich Mallow as acting President.
Whew! Darn contingency budget limitations.
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Post by justfacts on Dec 7, 2005 11:04:19 GMT -5
Go Plainedge! Picky-picky-picky! ;D ;D Don't you know how to count your blessings?That correction of the date is the first such action in two years of supplying correct and incorrect info to the public. It is a major sign the one day we, as a result of pointing out incorrect and questionable Budget items at a Board meeting, may be blessed with a final copy of a Budget that doesn't contain obvious " innocent arithmetic errors", or other mistakes such as " we accidently put the cost for this on the wrong line" and " the Computer can't calculate over 100%", or serious other incorrect statements like: - saying a Fund Balance transfer is a " reduction in Tax Rate", - - - or even (hope upon hope) one that; does not contain a Property Tax increase that's double digit at Four and Five Times the CPI rate! They may even make these corrections without blaming the messenger! The sad part is that the core of the Budget and Funding problem is not being addressed - attention is diverted towards blaming and taking vengeful actions against taxpayers who speak out against an operation that is not the best it can be.[/b] There are many more School Districts in Nassau County that have this same problem ~ ~ ~ and their professional Administrative leaders are not getting together and working towards a common goal of making the operation better!They just choose instead, to keep mandating a Property tax levy increase upon homeowners who suffer one large increase after another - year after year. That route has too many limitations that do not solve the core problem with funding School operations.Lord knows these Administrators are being compensated enough to rise above blaming local people who are uniformly across the County telling them that the system is broken and they need to work together to fix it - not attack the public that is saying loud and clear:
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
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Post by Go Plainedge! on Dec 7, 2005 21:56:51 GMT -5
I felt this to be apprapoe...
I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.
We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!
We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.
It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."
Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.
I want you to get mad!
I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.
All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.
You've gotta say, "I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!"
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell,
"I'm as mad as hell,
and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"
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Post by techie on Dec 21, 2005 6:25:32 GMT -5
Here's a good reason for not cutting athletic programs for the kids. What good is education if the kids life expectancies are cut short because of inactivity?
Many Teens Would Flunk Treadmill Tests By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer
December 20, 2005, 10:31 PM EST
CHICAGO -- About a third of U.S. teens would flunk a treadmill fitness test, a new study shows, meaning that more than 7 million youngsters could face higher risks for heart disease later in life.
While that finding is not surprising -- given previous research showing that about 16 percent of U.S. schoolchildren are seriously overweight -- it's "very concerning," said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital Boston.
Ludwig, who was not involved in the study, called treadmill tests a good measure of fitness. He said the results show that "at a time in life when adolescents and young adults should be at peak levels of fitness, there's in fact a very high prevalence ... of very low fitness."
The analysis of nationally representative data from government health surveys by Northwestern University researchers found that 34 percent of girls and boys aged 12 to 19 showed a poor level of cardiovascular fitness on an 8-minute treadmill test.
The tests became faster and steeper after a 2-minute warmup, and a rapidly increasing heart rate after just a short period of exercising defined poor fitness.
The study included 2,205 adolescents and 3,110 adults aged 20 to 49 who participated in the 1999-2002 surveys.
About 14 percent of the adults showed a poor level of fitness, but that underestimates the true number who are unfit because adults with high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors were excluded from the treadmill test, said lead author Mercedes Carnethon.
Teens and adults with poor fitness were two to four times more likely to be overweight or obese than those considered moderately or highly fit, the study found. Waist size, cholesterol levels and blood pressure also were higher in those in the low fitness category.
The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
"We've known for a long time that there's a trend toward declining physical activity" among U.S. children, said Carnethon, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern. The study shows this "is now being reflected by the prevalence of poor fitness."
Average cholesterol levels were about 10 points higher for youngsters in the low fitness category than for those considered highly fit. Blood pressure differences between categories was not as dramatic.
About 4 percent of the girls and almost 2 percent of the boys already had high blood pressure. Also, 2 percent of girls and 7 percent of boys had metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that includes big waists and higher levels for blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, which increase the risk for heart disease.
"While adolescents aren't at risk for heart disease in the short term," Carnethon said, "this has important implications for the long term health of youth in the United States."
The researchers did not calculate how many youngsters were in the moderately and highly fit categories and did not have data on what percentage of people in each of the three categories had high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors, Carnethon said.
The average body-mass index for boys and girls was within the normal range, but for adults it was 27, or in the overweight range. A BMI of 25 to 29 is considered overweight; 30 and over is obese.
The study "really highlights that there's a problem," said Dr. David Bernhardt, a Madison, Wis., pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.
* __
On the Net:
JAMA: http:jama.ama-assn.org
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
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Post by justfacts on Jan 13, 2006 21:02:35 GMT -5
For those that didn't catch this in Newsday - Stories like these make it less hopeful that State Law makers will pump more money into Long Island Schools. I don't know about you - but this makes me damn mad at those that allow this to go on!
There should be a "Hall of Shame" permanently and prominently established, listing all those "Former Administrators" (and present ones) and their staffs that are party to this scandal.[/b] ==========================================
A gaping deficit
Facing as much as a $25M shortfall, Patchogue-Medford schools chief seeks state help, DA probe
BY JOHN HILDEBRAND AND KARLA SCHUSTER STAFF WRITERS; Staff writer William Murphy contributed to this story January 13, 2006
Patchogue-Medford schools face a financial shortfall that could soar to more than $25 million - fully one-fifth of the district's current budget - which district officials say has been triggered by financial mismanagement and illegal spending.
In response, the district is seeking state permission to borrow money and pay off a portion of the shortfall, as well as a district attorney's investigation into possible wrongdoing.
Superintendent Mike Mostow says the shortfall comes in two categories: a $3.1-million deficit projected to grow to $4 million by the end of June and unaccounted expenditures of state and federal aid that could grow to more than $24 million once the district's new auditors complete their check of financial records from years past.[/i]
Mostow, who took charge of the district a year ago, blamed the district's predicament on former administrators. For example, he said they allowed the deficit to accumulate over at least four years, in part by deliberately delaying bill payments.
"People in this community were taken down a rosy path, being told everything was fine when it wasn't," the school chief said. "We may never recover from this."[/b]
Among the district's former financial advisers was the now-defunct auditing firm of Miller, Lilly & Pearce, an East Setauket accounting firm that was also employed by 50 other districts, including Roslyn, where an $11- million financial scandal erupted nearly two years ago. The firm's managing partner, Andrew Miller, admitted in November to altering the Roslyn district's financial records and is expected to be sentenced to six months in prison.
As part of an ongoing investigation, district authorities have turned over records to the Suffolk district attorney's office detailing what they describe as questionable retirement payouts to former top administrators.
In addition, a Jan. 5 preliminary auditors' report, prepared by R.S. Abrams & Co., of Ronkonkoma, a firm hired by the district, cites numerous improper uses of funds by former Patchogue-Medford officials. The money was spent for travel, conferences, flowers and alcohol drinks, as well as double payments to a local temple for classroom space.
The report also cites dozens of examples of sloppy accounting and inadequate financial controls. Examples include allowing people who do not work for the district to have access to accounting software and the entire business office staff having access to a supply of blank checks.
Patchogue-Medford's leaders fear a loss of public trust - a growing worry for schools Islandwide since the Roslyn scandal. The 8,800-student Patchogue system already is operating this year on a restricted contingency budget of $127.5 million, because it failed to win voter support of its spending plan last spring.
At Saxton Middle School last night, some residents reacted angrily to a school board presentation on the audit findings. "What I saw in there was people talking about thieves, a bunch of thieves," Robert Balke, 45, who has two children in Saxton, said outside the hall.
But asked about whether evidence of criminality had been found, auditor Bob Abrams said: "If you are thinking that we found something like in Roslyn, no, that's not correct."
Paying off a $4-million deficit in one year would be too expensive for taxpayers, district officials say. So they have asked for a special state law that would allow the district to borrow that amount and repay it over five years. The neighboring South Country district, dealing with a budget shortfall, is also seeking such relief from the state.
The area's two state lawmakers, Sen. Caesar Trunzo and Assemb. Patricia Eddington, have agreed to sponsor such legislation - so long as pending state audits indicate the deficits were not the result of wrongdoing. Such legislation is rare but not unprecedented. Chris Molluso, Trunzo's chief of staff, said he expects the legislation to be introduced in the late spring, once Trunzo and Eddington get preliminary word from the state comptroller's office that "everything looks good so far."
As one example of possible wrongdoing, Mostow said the district had conducted spot checks on expenditures of $1.5 million a year in state money earmarked for tutoring of young adults, many of them immigrants, at 28 centers across Long Island. He said the checks showed there was no instruction going on at some of the centers.
In addition, the auditing firm found a duplicate rent payment for one center, at Temple Beth El of Patchogue. The temple president, Martin Bradley Ashare, said yesterday he was unaware of any double rent payment.
Staff writer William Murphy contributed to this story.
Woes at other schools
Over the past 18 months, several Long Island school districts have experienced financial crises:
Roslyn: Six people, including the former superintendent, have been charged, or pleaded guilty to, stealing district funds as part of an $11-million embezzlement scandal.
Hempstead: Three people have been charged as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of financial malfeasance. A state comptroller's review found the district squandered $5.1 million over two years in what auditors called "random and uncontrolled spending."
William Floyd: Three former school officials have been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school district. A state comptroller's audit of the district is still pending.
South Country: The district recently discovered a $4-million to $5-million budget gap caused by mistakes by the now-defunct accounting firm of Miller, Lilly & Pearce of East Setauket, which handled auditing for several Long Island districts, including Roslyn. A similar mistake by the same firm in North Babylon created an unexpected $2.8-million surplus.
Karla SCHUSTER
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Post by techie on Jan 14, 2006 7:51:16 GMT -5
DA subpoenas school audits Suffolk to examine Patchogue-Medford documents in effort to assess alleged fiscal miscues within district BY JOHN HILDEBRAND STAFF WRITER
January 13, 2006, 10:09 PM EST
The Suffolk district attorney's office Friday subpoenaed auditor's reports from the fiscally troubled Patchogue-Medford school system, as district officials vowed to cooperate with investigators and clean up school finances.
At a news conference Friday, Patchogue-Medford Superintendent Mike Mostow voiced cautious optimism that district efforts to discuss budget problems openly would gradually rebuild public confidence.
On Thursday, Mostow revealed the district was running a budget deficit expected to reach $4 million by July. He also said the district could not properly account for the expenditure of at least $8.3 million in state and federal aid for the year ended last June 30, and possibly triple that amount, when prior years are examined by an independent auditing firm.
Two processes are now in motion to nail down exactly how much the district could be missing: The district's auditors will examine the books of previous years to make sure that federal and state aid was spent correctly; and the DA's office, armed with a year's audit from the district, will focus on whether any specific crimes were committed.
Patchogue-Medford already is running on a restricted "contingency" budget of $127.5 million because voters did not approve a spending plan last spring. The district is seeking special state legislation that would allow it to pay off its deficit gradually.
"People have known for years there were problems," said Mostow, who has been in charge of the district since last January. "Now the truth is out there, and I think people feel good about that."
The subpoenaed auditors' reports, which are preliminary, cover district expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, and reveal scores of problems ranging from sloppy bookkeeping to poor financial controls, as well as misspending on travel, flowers, meals, drinks and what appears to be a school employee's personal 800 number.
The reports are by the Ronkonkoma accounting firm of R.S. Abrams & Co., which was hired by Patchogue-Medford to replace Miller Lilly & Pearce, whose principal pleaded guilty to altering records in the financial scandal that rocked the Roslyn schools.
Robert Clifford, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, confirmed that the reports had been subpoenaed as part of a wider investigation of school districts in Suffolk County launched in September.
Despite the reports' grim findings, there were signs that the district's public relations efforts might be paying off. About 100 residents who showed up for a district meeting Thursday night to discuss the financial crisis appeared mostly somber rather than outraged, and one school board trustee openly critical of Mostow and the board's majority in the past praised the leadership's frankness on the issue.
"This is a great first step," said board member Joseph LoSchiavo. "I do believe the board is taking the right step by going out to the public with this."
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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Post by techie on Jan 21, 2006 6:59:58 GMT -5
Pataki's missed opportunity His school-aid proposals fix nothing[/u]
January 20, 2006
Railing at Gov. George Pataki's current school-aid proposals may seem as futile as shooting at a corpse. Nothing in his $110.7 billion budget is more dead on arrival than how much more he'd like to spend on education, both overall and the shares for each region and district. It should be.
Once again, Pataki has missed a double opportunity - to make good on a court order to stop shortchanging New York City schools, and to overhaul a politically influenced system of financing education that long has punished poor and, increasingly, middle-class districts throughout the state. Once again, Pataki opted at best for incremental improvements in the funding formulas, but in ways that he knows the legislature can't - and shouldn't - accept.
The healthier economy means the money is there, for now, to go a long way toward satisfying the court and helping poor kids in suburban and rural trouble spots. The danger, however, is that the Assembly and Senate will go hog wild in an election year, boosting spending to satisfy special interests, such as teachers unions, without making sure proportionally more goes to the neediest students.
School aid is a highly charged, extremely complex issue, but all you need to know about the flaws in Pataki's plan is this: Half Hollow Hills, one of Suffolk's richest districts, would receive a 9 percent boost. Wyandanch, its poorest, would receive a 2 percent cut.
Why? Although Pataki says he has proposed a record increase, his figure is offset by reductions in some existing aid streams. Wyandanch would lose a ton under sneaky cuts to special education.
Put another way, some of what Pataki giveth in his overall $634 million increase, he taketh away by consolidating dozens of aid categories, allotting less money for some of the services. That's a killer for poor districts. Money alone won't cure what ails them, but they deserve at least a fair share based on economic and educational need.
The $634 million also includes $375 million toward settling the Campaign for Fiscal Equity suit. But there are no details, except that the city would get 60 percent. Anything in the remaining 40 percent for Wyandanch? It's unclear. And it would be a piddling sum, anyway, when the courts have ordered $6 billion for the city alone. Pataki and the legislature must do more and better, basing aid on the needs of kids, not politicians.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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Post by techie on Jan 23, 2006 10:03:27 GMT -5
Finding relief from a taxing situation We need a solution to Nassau's unequal burden of levies BY HARVEY LEVINSON Harvey Levinson is chairman of the Nassau Board of Assessors.
January 23, 2006
School district spending and property tax rates will continue to rise each year. It is not an encouraging prospect, but it is certainly one we have to face.
As we all revel in the fresh start of a new year, our collective resolution for 2006 should be our commitment to working together to change the fabric of a school and special district property tax system that has created a new class of house-rich and cash-poor homeowners.
In the past year, a handful of elected officials and I have initiated studies exposing the unchecked tax-and-spend mentality that led to scandals in school districts, wasteful duplication of services, and perpetuation of nearly 400 shadow governments imposing about 1,600 widely different tax rates on homeowners and businesses in Nassau.
Although the curriculums, operating costs, revenues and contractual obligations vary among school districts, school taxes still account for about 65 percent of a homeowner's overall property tax bill. Individual school tax rates for residential properties in 2005-06 ranged from $173 in Manhasset to $409 in Levittown for every hundred dollars of assessed value.
Is there any reason why the exact Levitt-style home valued at $281,000 should be paying $3,290 in school property taxes in the Island Trees district and $4,336 in Levittown?
As Draconian as school property taxes are for homes, those paid by businesses are even harsher and vary significantly among districts.
A gas station valued at $500,000 (based on 2004-05 school tax rates) paid $28,790 in the East Meadow district while a similar business paid $40,665 in Valley Stream School District 24.
One possible solution to this disparity would be the creation of a single commercial school property tax rate for all districts, with a percentage of the taxes collected redistributed to all districts under a revenue-sharing formula. Other than sheer happenstance, is there any reason why only two school districts should benefit from the property taxes being paid by the Roosevelt Field Mall?
For sanitation districts operating independently within each town, the disparity of tax rates imposed on homeowners - as opposed to the general town collection district - are significant. If you live in the Special Sanitation District encompassing Elmont, Valley Stream North, West Hempstead and Franklin Square, you are paying 53 percent more for garbage service than most homes east of the Meadowbrook Parkway in the Town of Hempstead.
There is no reason why garbage collection cannot be consolidated and operated by town government under one tax rate for all of its residents.
Similar disparities occur in water districts. When a glass of water costs more than a glass of milk or your neighbor across town is paying a different price for a glass of water, you have to question whether your money is being well spent and if there is not a better way to provide services for these rapidly aging water systems. One possible solution is to place all public water districts under a single water authority, mirroring that of Suffolk County.
The task of finding workable solutions to change the school and special district property tax system requires meticulous planning and coordination from our leading financial experts and state legislators.
Everything must be on the table, including a study of replacing the residential portion of the school property tax with a modest income tax and using the more than $1 billion in STAR and existing school aid to supplement school district budgets.
Many local officials and lawmakers around the state have offered reform measures geared to the problems and financial resources of their regions. But if you apply any of those solutions to Nassau County without addressing our particular system, you create new and more complex problems.
Any study must be conducted at the state level with special consideration given to each region, with the clear understanding that the assessed value of one's property is not an indicator of that person's ability to pay taxes.
I hope all elected officials on Long Island will join me in calling on the governor to appoint immediately a bipartisan committee to submit a course of action to reform the school and special district property tax issues. There is no reason why they cannot be debated in a civil and respectful manner.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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Post by Go Plainedge! on Jan 23, 2006 20:38:04 GMT -5
I think this article illustrates how badly our homes are taxed. This method needs a serious overhaul and restructuring.
It doesn't make sense........$173 in Manhasset to $409 in Levittown for every hundred dollars of assessed value.
Is there any reason why the exact Levitt-style home valued at $281,000 should be paying $3,290 in school property taxes in the Island Trees district and $4,336 in Levittown?
Is there any logic with that?
Techie, I think you called for tax revenue sharing sometime back, correct?
This is a good article to quote from for your letters to our local government. It helps illustrate the point of a poor taxation plan and required reform.
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Post by techie on Jan 25, 2006 9:31:07 GMT -5
LI library taxes hit poorest hardestBY JOSEPH MALLIA STAFF WRITER January 25, 2006 A survey expected to be released today shows wide disparities in annual tax rates among Nassau's 52 public library systems, with residents in some lower income areas paying more than $600 per year in taxes while others in wealthier areas pay less than $50. Harvey Levinson, chairman of the county board of assessors, said the survey showed that in lower income communities such as Roosevelt and Lakeview residents pay more for library service than they do for police. They pay four or five times the tax rates assessed on more affluent communities, such as Lawrence or the Gold Coast Library District in Glen Head. "Since library taxes are not as high as school taxes they get lost in the analysis," said Levinson, in an interview. "Most people pay the library tax with their school tax bill, and nobody informs the community that they are paying substantial amounts to borrow books." The study uses a home with a market value of $350,000 to compare tax bills in a variety of communities in Nassau. In Lakeview, a homeowner would pay $613 a year in library taxes and $542 for police protection, while Roosevelt homeowners would pay $630 to the library district and $544 for police, Levinson said. But a homeowner in Millbrook would pay just $48 in annual library taxes while a homeowner in the Gold Coast Library District in Oyster Bay would pay $43 annually, according to the study. Levinson said the variations in library levies are linked to a lack of taxable commercial property in some neighborhoods, low residential valuations, major new construction or renovation and, in some cases, inefficient management of library districts. The assessor is calling for the creation of a special Nassau County commission to study disparities in library taxes. Shared commercial taxes, district consolidation and frequent audits of library finances could help lower costs, he said. Ed Kearney, a Lakeview retiree, said he wasn't surprised to learn that the assessor's survey shows he and his neighbors pay more in taxes each year to borrow library books than they do for police protection. "This is not to say that books aren't important, but we're paying far too much for our library. Our tax bills show paying more for that library than we do for the fire department," Kearney said. Kearney, along with about a dozen neighbors, collected 400 signatures opposing the Lakeview district's $1.8-million conversion of a three-story Woodfield Road school building into a new library. Lakeview's librarian-in-charge could not be reached for comment. Library taxes least library tax rates as reported by the Nassau County assessor's office. A complete 52-district Nassau County list is at www.newsday.comLIBRARY DISTRICT HOMES WITHIN DISTRICT 2006 TAXES PAID Roosevelt 3,800 $630.40 Lakeview 1,488 $613.48 Hewlett-Woodmere 5,989 $423.78 Freeport 8,024 $400.96 North Merrick 4,564 $369.50 COUNTYWIDE 2.3 million-plus $218.70 North Malverne n/a $107.56 Lawrence 9,475 $106.79 Gold Coast (North Hempstead) 196 $62.98 Millbrook 1,186 $48.42 Gold Coach (Oyster Bay) 3,803 $42.96 NOTES: TAXES ARE BASED ON A HOME MARKET VALUE OF $350,000 Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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Post by techie on Jan 25, 2006 9:42:45 GMT -5
Library taxes
Community taxes paid in 52 library districts across Nassau County as reported by the county assessor’s office.
January 24, 2006
Library districts Homes within district 2006 taxes paid Roosevelt 3,800 $630.40 Lakeview 1,488 $613.48 Hewlett-Woodmere 5,989 $423.78 Freeport 8,024 $369.50 North Merrick 4,564 $369.50 Levittown 14,794 $328.67 Bellmore 4,281 $313.58 Plainview-Old Bethpage 9,526 $303.28 Plainedge 6,242 $298.69 Roslyn 5,249 $290.17 West Hempstead 5,166 $276.92 Merrick 6,132 $270.20 East Meadow 14,799 $266.75 Amityville 1,868 $262.43 Baldwin 9,885 $262.20 Wantagh 5,833 $252.96 Seaford 5,544 $248.36 North Bellmore 8,204 $248.20 Jericho 4,643 $220.68 Port Washington 8,982 $217.81 Westbury 5,606 $210.04 Franklin Square 7,615 $209.42 Farmingdale 10,726 $204.28 Hicksville 12,055 $200.76 Bethpage 5,845 $198.98 Oceanside 11,677 $198.84 Rockville Centre 5,666 $196.54 New Hyde Park-Garden City Park 6,909 $190.10 Massapequa 15,925 $182.91 Locust Valley 2,417 $181.88 Manhasset 5,337 $180.39 Cold Spring Harbor 672 $175.30 Carle Place N/A $173.99 Bay Park 890 $173.86 S. Lynbrook-Hewlett 304 $171.78 Island Trees 4,619 $165.80 Great Neck 11,132 $156.96 Syosset 10,491 $155.05 Shelter Rock 9,675 $153.14 North Lynbrook N/A $148.10 Elmont 12,319 $137.20 East Norwich-Oyster Bay 4,271 $134.30 Uniondale 5,906 $123.74 East Franklin Square N/A $123.13 Island Park 2,747 $122.83 North Valley Stream N/A $117.81 Long Beach 10,225 $117.79 North Malverne N/A $107.56 Lawrence 9,475 $106.79 Gold Coast (North Hempstead) 196 $62.98 Millbrook 1,186 $48.42 Gold Coast (Oyster Bay) 3,803 $42.96 Countywide 2.3 million-plus $218.70 NOTES: Taxes are based on a home market value of $350,000.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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Post by justfacts on Jan 25, 2006 15:19:11 GMT -5
Newsday - Are all your Reports this bad?
That's a very interesting post about Library costs - however, there are very serious flaws in the numbers. I don't know if they are caused by intention, or just plain lack of knowledge.
But let's take a look at the most serious one - the summary of
"Countywide 2.3 million-plus $218.70"
If we had 2.3 Million homes County wide that would be some humongous feat! It would also mean that, at taxes of $218.70 per home the total Library taxes paid would be (hold on now!) $503,010,000 plus! - - - or over $9,673,269 per Library! Tell me true - is anyone's Library Budget at $9.67 Million?
At 2.3 Million homes with an average of 3.8 persons per home, that's a County population of 8.74 Million! I know we're crowded here on the Island - but certainly not that crowded!
For those of you that might want to know - the "average Library" on Long Island has a Budget of about $1.3 Million and the number of homes are something over 315,000.
The "Gold Coast" Libraries quoted in Newsday are new to having a Library. Individuals in those areas use to contract with neighboring areas for Library service - at quite an individual expense. It is thanks to the efforts of Plainedge's former Library Director, Joe Eisner (among others) that they now have elected to fund their own Library on the "Gold Coast"[/b]
The errors behind the "histrionics" are especially evident in the North Hempstead "Gold Cost" Library tax quoted - It shows that a grand total of $12,344 was collected per year! (198 times $62.98)
Come on now! Where are you going to find a person willing to staff a Library for that amount of Salary and Benefits per year? Let alone take out from that amount the cost of books, rent, light, heat, etc.? The numbers quoted certainly did not support a Library as we know it![/i]
This is very certainly a mixed list of Apples, Bananas, Grapes, Pears and Watermelons being tossed off as an equal comparison of all fruits! Is eating a Grape just like eating a Watermellon? It seems that according to Newsday it is!
Newsday: Please go back to school on this article - For now you don't even rate getting a grade on this report!
Ed
P.S. I hope that they realize that by saying the taxes across the 52 Library Districts were equivalent and based on a home with a Market Value of $350,000, that they were using that number as the uniform Market value and the uniform Taxable value of an "Average house" in the County! Obviously, these numbers are from a year or two ago!
But, the above numbers come to a net Property value total for Nassau County of $110.25 Billion using my number for the amount of homes, and $0.805 Trillion using Newsday's 2.3 Million homes. Tell us true, Mr. Assessor - who's number is right?
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Post by rinx on Jan 25, 2006 23:40:24 GMT -5
The politicians do nothing but give us lip service. The Nassau and Suffolk legislators have the power along with the county executives to do more.
Why not add a .25 cent tax on cigarettes to go directly for education? Why not add a .5 cent tax to a gallon of gas to go directly for education? Why can't the state take a slightly higher percentage from the lotteries?
For the life of me why does the state have to kick in for "inequities" to NYC schools? My Uncle lives within NYC. Lives in a modest home valued over in excess of $1,000,000.00 and pays a total of 3,000 in taxes. I live in a modest home that Nassau County has valued at over 600,000. (yeah right) and pay $10,000 in combined taxes. Why aren't NYC residents asked to kick in their fair share towards their school system? When writing letters asking for more aid from the state to our politicians ask them why such inequality exists between NYC and Nassau/Suffolk.
Here's a better one... All politicians should kick in 25% of monies left over from their campaign "war chests" to go directly to education. Another 25% to help fund national health care.
Darn double talking BS artists. They play both sides of the fence and we're the ones constantly taking the lumps.
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Post by Go Plainedge! on Jan 26, 2006 11:40:32 GMT -5
I just heard a very disturbing report today on the radio. On Long Island, 54% of the residents are finding it difficult to meet their monthly mortgage payment - because of the property taxes.
75% of 21-34 year old said that they will more than likely move off Long Island in the next 5 years!
At this rate, in 10 years it won't matter how much the school budget is, there won't be anyone here to pay the bill.
Of course I'm exaggerating, but it is quite a scary thought.
This goes well beyond the school budget issues and state aid. Local government has been standing in the way of a well balanced community. If they don't make a change, there won't be a need for them to have a government job.
This has been a topic for MANY years. I think, only now that it has reached a critical stage, people are voicing their concerns. It's a shame those voices weren't heard years ago.
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