Meeting_November_29

NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.

"The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt

November 29, 2007

Bellmore Library, 2288 Bedford Ave, Bellmore, NY

Director Paul Kosowski discussed the issue of property taxes. He stated that the proposed property tax increase in the County Executive's budget was defeated by pushing for confirmation of the tax increase and reminding several legislators of the Census report which confirmed that Nassau County residents pay the highest property taxes in New York and the 2nd highest in the nation. He then discussed the competing plans proposed by the New York State Senate (Skelos) and the Assembly plan (Fitzpatrick). He made it clear that the Assembly plan actually addresses the problem, unchecked spending by school districts. He advised everyone to visit the Long Islander for Education Reform (LIFER) of which the NCCA is a member of to review their analysis of both plans. He stated that LIFER has a public access show on Cablevision as well.

He discussed the legislation proposed by Harvey Levinson which seeks to change the current appeals process of property assessments in New York state. He advised that the legislation which was introduced this past June in the Assembly will make it almost impossible to challenge property assessments as it will favor the county and will become too costly to challenge. He stated that a review of the proposed legislation will be posted on the website next month.

The issue of pay raises was addressed. He advised that County Executive Suozzi submitted legislation back in September to increase his salary and that of other elected officials by as much as 60%. He stated that in an effort to ensure honesty in the debate over salary increases, he appeared before the legislature on October 22nd and asked that the money County Executive Suozzi allocated in his budget for the salary increases be moved from an unallocated budget line to the contingency fund line or transferred to another area of the budget. He advised that this would have made it more difficult for the County Executive to simply wait until after the election. Unfortunately, no action was taken and once the election was over, the County executive again sought raises of 60%. He stated that the matter was scheduled for a hearing on December 3rd and that a member of the board will appear at the hearing to speak out in opposition to the plan.

Vice President Barrett Psareas discussed the NCCA's effort to defeat the governor's scheme to weaken identity standards and grant driver licenses to illegal aliens. He stated that he attended a public hearing on the license issue at Patchogue Village Hall on October 24th led by Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco. He discussed the results of the hearing in which there was broad opposition to the Governor's plan and some disruption by proponents. He then addressed the national security implications of enacting the Governor's plan and issues surrounding illegal immigration.

He discussed the appearance by one of the NCCA board members before the Nassau County Legislature on October 10th and 22nd which ultimately resulted in a 12-7 majority of legislators publicly opposing the plan. He reported that all nine Republicans and three Democrats, Scannell, Denenberg and Mejias came out in opposition with eleven writing the Governor asking him to withdraw his plan. He advised that seven legislators did not oppose the plan.

Executive Director, Robert Kosowski addressed the current battle underway in New York to defend marriage. He discussed the June vote by the New York Assembly to legalize homosexual marriage and the NCCA's effort to protect traditional marriage. He stated that the NCCA took the following steps to defend marriage; the voting records of several Nassau County legislators were disseminated to the public, calls were made to dozens of Assembly members in opposition to legalizing homosexual marriage and the NCCA became a member organization of the Coalition to Save Marriage in NY. He stated that a statewide effort will be launched next year to inform the general public of how each Assembly member voted and to mobilize our allies to defend marriage.

He addressed a recent case involving religious discrimination that occurred in the Town of Oyster Bay. He stated that in July of 2006, Susan C. Mendelson, a member of Jews for Jesus along with some colleagues went to John J. Burns Park in Massapequa to distribute religious literature before a town concert. He stated that even though a public park is considered a traditional open forum, the town along with the Nassau County Police threatened to arrest her as the town has an ordinance forbidding anyone from making "a speech, address or harangue" in any park or beech without a permit. He stated that Susan Mendelson attempted to obtain a permit but found out there was no formal permit process in place so she returned to the park and was ultimately issued a criminal summons. He indicated that as expected, the criminal summons was dismissed as the town law was declared unconstitutional.

He advised that in July of this year, Susan Mendelsohn filed a 1983 federal civil rights action against the town, however the town went ahead and passed another ordinance which again requires a permit to express one's first amendment rights and is clearly unconstitutional. Based on the town's actions, he advised that he discussed the issue before the town board on September 25th and later obtained a copy of the new ordinance. He advised that in a follow up contact with one of the town council members, it was agreed that that the ordinance will be re-evaluated in light of his review. He did disclose that the town did receive a prior mailing with a memorandum of law as to the display of religious symbols.

Mr. Kosowski advised that the NCCA will send a memorandum of law to all of the public libraries and Fire Departments located in Nassau County addressing religious liberty. He stated that the memorandum of law (from the national public interest law firm Alliance Defense Fund) will clarify what is legally permissible as to religious expression in the public square and at public buildings. He stated that the public libraries will also receive a copy of an information letter on Equal Access clarifying when government can regulate or limit speech. He advised that the intent of our effort is to ensure that all Nassau residents have the freedom to express their faith by way of speech and not suffer from discrimination based on viewpoint.