NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt

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November 30, 2006

Glen Cove Library, 4 Glen Cove Road, Glen Cove, NY

The issue of property tax relief was addressed by our Executive Director, Robert Kosowski. He discussed the fact that Nassau County residents pay the second highest property taxes in the nation with no relief in sight. He inquired as to why each jurisdiction points to the other when taxpayers seek accountability and why the first choice of government is to raise taxes instead of reducing the size of government programs and spending. He then stressed the importance of promoting the idea of tax relief into the public arena to motivate our elected leaders at all levels of government. He then unveiled the  mechanism to promote this debate, "The Property Tax Reduction Law".

Under the County Charter, the constitution of Nassau County government, a mechanism exists under Article 1A which authorizes qualified voters of Nassau County to draft and introduce legislation before the Nassau County legislature. This requires the gathering of signatures via the petition process which is then submitted to the country clerk to certify. Unless there are valid or viable legal objections, the legislation then goes to the legislature via the appropriate committee for their consideration. While it is up to the committee to accept or reject the legislation, the issue of tax relief then enters into the political process. If the legislature rejects the legislation by either voting it down in committee or holding the bill without voting, they will have to justify their actions before the people. 

The issue of open and accountable government was addressed. Under current law, the legislature is only required to provide notice of proposed legislation in final form 4 days prior to consideration and notice as to their agenda 7 days prior to the scheduled hearing. This allows for extremely limited notice to the public and encourages last minute items to be considered without the public's knowledge. The most recent example is the attempt to enact pay raises of 35% & 90% and passage of the domestic registry. This reform measure would require a minimum of thirty days notice prior to any hearing date. Furthermore, it would require the establishment of a public registry where all proposed legislation (in final form for passage) would be published on the county website and made available at all public libraries thirty days prior to the public hearing.

Back in April, all nineteen legislators were given a copy of "The Disclosure and Accountability Reform Act", however no action has been taken to enact this legislation. Accordingly, signatures are also be gathered to submit this legislation to the Nassau County legislature for their consideration. 

Our effort to support marriage as the union of one man and one woman was addressed. Back in October, State Senator Nick Spano came out in support of homosexual marriage and promised to sponsor legislation to amend the Domestic Relations law. He also came out in support of legislation which would re-define gender roles. As his actions would effect every resident of New York State and Nassau residents, his position in support of these changes were disseminated to the public consistent with our mission statement.

The issue of religious liberty and our effort to combat religious discrimination was addressed. A report was provided on the status of NYS Parks as to the re-naming of "Christmas tree" lighting events as "holiday tree" lightings. It appears that the Commissioner was never serious about revising this policy even though she claimed to agree with our position to revise it. Our annual campaign to assist any Nassau County resident who has been subjected to religious discrimination as outlined in our article “The Constitution and religious liberty” was discussed. Our effort to ensure religious liberty for all Nassau residents remains ongoing. A memorandum of law pertaining to the display of religious and secular symbols was sent to all 70 municipalities including towns, cities, villages and Nassau County. 

Note: The feedback as to the location of the meeting is acknowledged. The distance of travel will be taken into consideration for the next meeting. We apologize to all who were unable to attend the meeting due to the location.