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Legislators back $50 ticket hike

BY REID J. EPSTEIN | reid.epstein@newsday.com

6:31 PM EDT, September 25, 2008

All but one of Suffolk's 18 legislators signed Presiding Officer William Lindsay's letter to Gov. David A. Paterson supporting a $50 ticket surcharge on the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway.

Lindsay (D-Holbrook) said he believes the letter, which has not yet been sent, will have an impact with the governor.

"I just didn't want the governor to think that we weren't interested in that revenue," Lindsay said. "I'm hoping that he's going to go through with his plan to endorse legislation in the next session to get this revenue."

The letter also endorses Paterson's proposal to allow Suffolk to install red-light cameras, which automatically send tickets to drivers who disobey traffic signals. A bill to grant Suffolk red-light cameras and create the ticket surcharge never came to a vote in Albany this summer.

After a month long dispute with Paterson over highway patrol funding, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy cut the Suffolk Police highway patrol unit earlier this month. The Suffolk sheriff's department assumed highway patrol duties on the LIE and Sunrise Highway.

Legis. Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) said funding from the ticket surcharge is necessary to help the county police the roads.

"We have to provide funding for the sheriff or the police to patrol these highways," he said.

Every legislator except Legis. Thomas Barraga (R- West Islip) signed the letter. Barraga called the letter "an end-run around the county executive" and suggested Suffolk would get less state aid because of the disagreement between Levy and legislators.

"That's the excuse they use for giving you absolutely nothing," he said. "That's why I'm not signing."

Levy said the legislators are cowed by pressure from the Suffolk Police union, which opposed the switch from police to deputy sheriffs on the highways.

"It's a rare breed who can resist the pressure from the unions to sign these type of letters," he said. "They sign, they ingratiate themselves with the unions and then they leave it to the executive to balance the budget."

Levy said he supported the red-light camera element of the bill when it was before state legislators this summer.

Even some lawmakers who support Lindsay's letter said they doubt it will do much good.

"When Steve Levy makes up his mind, it's usually over and he's moving on to something else," said Legis. Jack Eddington (WF-Medford). "But to me it seems like a win-win situation."