A Word From The Publisher

Recently, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer called for an end to pay and benefits for commissioners of "special districts" which handle sanitation, water and parks in unincorporated areas. The governor proposes that those services be instead provided by towns. He charges that the pay and extra perks, such as lifetime health insurance for commissioners are inappropriate.

Opponents of the governor say that local control will be lost if residents of unincorporated areas have to look to the towns for their services. They believe the governor would like to create large monolithic agencies which would be accountable to no one.

Residents of Garden City really have the best of both worlds - services are provided by a single entity, the Village of Garden City, under the control of an unpaid volunteer Board of Trustees. While the Village's management level staff receive pay appropriate to their level of professionalism, pay and benefits are determined by the Board and approved publicly.

Similarly, residents who have a problem with Village services know they only have to call Village Hall to resolve their problem, and as a last resort can easily bring the matter to the attention of their POA and/or elected Trustee.

Maybe instead of eliminating the special districts, people in unincorporated areas should consider the benefits of forming a Village and consolidating services at a local level.

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher