North Hempstead town approves budget

The Town of North Hempstead Monday night approved a $108.3 million budget for next year that pierces a state-imposed 2-percent cap on tax increases.

Town board members held a public hearing, at which no one spoke, before overriding the cap and adopting the 2012 spending plan. The budget vote was 6-0. Councilman Angelo Ferrara, the sole Republican, was absent.

The tax levy will go up about 2.8 percent, town officials said.

North Hempstead officials said they had originally anticipated a total 1.9 percent levy increase. But bids for garbage service came in higher than planned, said Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman.

Also, the town this year had expanded the Great Neck garbage district to include new neighborhoods, increasing costs.

Under state law, town budgets must include special district spending when the town board acts as the district board.

If the aggregate exceeds the 2 percent cap, 60 percent of the town board must approve overriding it.

The proposed override was not discussed at the Nov. 10 public hearing on the budget.

Kaiman said another factor was a dispute over Nassau County subsidies for North Hempstead students who attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and community colleges.

The town has sued the county over the reimbursements, which were $1.17 million for 2010.

"Collectively, this puts us over the 2 percent" limit, Kaiman said.

At the end of Monday night's meeting, Kaiman said Ferrara had told him he would have voted against the budget had he been able to attend.