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Law would open special districts' finances

BY SANDRA PEDDIE | sandra.peddie@newsday.com

April 22, 2008

Saying they hope to bring special districts out of the "shadows," New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi have proposed new legislation requiring special districts to be more open about their finances.

The legislation would require districts to hold public hearings on their budgets, post financial information online and give adequate notice of all hearings. An election would require at least 20 days' notice. It follows a series of Newsday stories on the lavish pay, benefits and perks given to district officials.

"This legislation is a no-brainer," Suozzi said.

Special districts are tiny units of government that provide services such as water, garbage pickups and fire protection to specific areas. The majority of special districts are operated through towns, but others are run by independent, elected boards of commissioners. The legislation focuses on those independent districts.

Districts with elected boards enjoy a special independence under the law. They are not required to file financial reports with the state comptroller, and provide limited financial information to towns. Independent districts submit budget estimates to town boards, but town officials cannot reduce them without commissioners' approval, the comptroller's office said.

Spending in special districts has come under fire in the past year. Although the roughly 340 special districts on Long Island represent less than 5 percent of districts statewide, they collect half of the $1.3 billion in revenue for special districts around the state.

A report issued last year by the state comptroller found that Nassau taxpayers pay an average of $946 per household for special districts - the most statewide. Suffolk taxpayers pay an average of $512 per household annually.

Although many independent special districts have resisted calls for consolidation of services, at least two have agreed there is a need for more accountability. The Hicksville and Bethpage water districts plan to change their annual elections from May and September to December, when most special districts hold their elections.

A TAXING SITUATION

340 Number of LI special districts

$946 Average household tax from special districts in Nassau

$512 Average household tax from special districts in Suffolk