On Thursday, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano announced a Debt Reduction and Sewer Stabilization Plan to eliminate $750 million -- 25 percent -- of the county's $3 billion debt. The plan also aims to stabilize Nassau County's Sewer Authority, which is set to face bankruptcy in 2014, as warned by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) in its October 2009 report.
The Debt Reduction and Sewer Stabilization Plan includes the implementation of a public-private partnership to operate and maintain Nassau's three wastewater treatment plants, which have fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair over the past decade, according to the county.
The sewage treatment plants have racked up more than $1 million in Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) fines, the county said in a release.
The plan requires a private operator to make necessary and costly improvements as part of a contract to operate and maintain Nassau's sewage treatment system while stabilizing rates and avoiding the NIFA predicted bankruptcy.
The county will host a series of informational meetings for the public prior to sending any plan to the Nassau County Legislature. The public information panel will include representatives from the Nassau County Department of Public Works and potential operator United Water.
The public information hearings will take place at 6 p.m. on May 9 at the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant, May 16 at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant and on May 17 at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building.
Non Profit Fails to Cooperate with Comptroller's Audit, Contract Not Renewed
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos' office aborted its attempt to conduct a limited audit of its contract with the Long Island Association for AIDS Care, Inc. (LIAAC) due to lack of cooperation by the agency.
According to Maragos, LIAAC was not adequately forthcoming with requested documents and records that as required under its contract with the county.
Maragos is now recommending a review of the agency by State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who oversees charities in the state, by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli who oversees NYS contracts and the county attorney for potential breach of contract.
"The lack of transparency by LIAAC, a non-profit organization, raised very disturbing questions as to how taxpayer money is being spent," Maragos said. "Our discovery that the CEO of this non-profit was earning over $432,000 in compensation from multiple employers caused further concern. Upon failure to cooperate with our audit, we had no choice but to discontinue using LIAAC for further County services."
Catering Workers Form Advocacy Group to Fight Tip Legislation
Long Island restaurant, catering and banquet hall employees have established a new advocacy group to fight proposed legislation that will allow their employers to keep tips collected in the past from banquet patrons but never passed along to waiters, bartenders and bussers.
The group, Long Island Catering Employees Association, was introduced Monday at a Carle Place press conference.
Numerous caterers in the region collected tips, listed as a mandatory gratuity or service charge in their patrons’ contracts, but never distributed the money to their workers as required under state Labor Department rules and a 2008 decision by the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
Now, the caterers are seeking to undermine a ruling, and have convinced state Sen. Jack Martins, R-Mineola, to introduce legislation that, if enacted, would eliminate any retroactivity on the employees' claims. This would result in the dismissal of pending law suits, which could bring 35,000 catering employees as much as $200 million in back tips. The legislation would make the practice of withholding tips illegal going forward.
Nassau to Host Workshop on Drug Prevention in Middle Schools
On May 11, Nassau County will host a free conference to help school districts create and implement effective drug prevention programs. The May 11 conference will be held at The Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage.
To register for the conference, school officials should contact Maria Ploth at (516) 571-1711.
The Sewage Plants - it only took one person with a little thoughtful planning to expose this mess. First, with the Department of labor and when the shit hit the fan "literally" the DEC was asked to do their part. But that same person also advised the County to do the right thing, to get to the true root cause of this failure and they didn't. The failures occurred at the deputy commissioner, commissioner, ofiice of budget and management, the lack of oversite from the legislature and yes, the County Executive office. By all rights we should be outsourcing or privatizing them. Tom Souzzi is responible for getting us into this mess and Ed Mangano simply doesn't know how to get us out ... the right way
Nassau residents should be insisting on having this put forth as a referendum and it should be properly dicided on by the residents of Nassau only in that manner. Do not listen to that man ... behind the curtain.
I went to the EPA website and saw the new total. it's not 47 million.... IT'S 58 MILLION GALLONS A DAY! I'm actually crying right now. The environmental onslaught by Nassau is ensuring the Western Bays never recover, filling it with human sludge. if there was ever a call to extend the outfall pipes into the Ocean, this is it. @ All. Do not eat the fish, crabs, or anything else out of those waters. there's good reason why the DEC banned all shellfishing in the Western Bays indefinitely. Do not swim in those waters as the potential to contract life-threatening bacterial infections is high. Private or not, we cannot sustain this environmental disaster.
by the way - The EPA was started by Nixon in 1970. The massive move to the "right of right" during the Reagan years has brought on the Republican efforts to neuter the EPA since, but it was proposed and signed into law by a Republican President. Nixon also signed OSHA into law, as well as the NOAA. He also proposed national health care, very similar to what Obama signed, but Nixon's plan was shot down ... by Watergate & waning support from Ted Kennedy. As I said, the right shifted right and so did the Left. Both parties will sell out their constituents to the highest bidder and they get away with it due to voter apathy. If something is wrong, it's a good bet to blame BOTH parties, because in one way or another, they usually are both responsible.
http://bellmore.patch.com/articles/mangano-attempts-to-eliminate-25-percent-of-county-debt#comment_3324311 But when people rely on extremist political rhetoric, they usually are wrong, no matter whether it is to the extreme right, or the extreme left.