Letters: Budget-balancing act in Nassau

I read in "NIFA nixes budget" [News, Sept. 3] that the Mangano administration wants, as a significant component of its budget-balancing effort, to sell the Nassau County sewer system to a private entity. Now, I have a gas meter that registers whenever I need hot water, an electric meter that records whenever I turn on my lights, and a water meter that keeps track whenever I take a shower. And I get billed for all three. True, it's not part of my tax bill.

Let's examine how the sale of the sewer system works. The county will no longer have the responsibility for maintaining the sewer and wastewater system, thereby lowering operating expenses. I, on the other hand, will be billed by, and pay for the service to, a group that will purchase the system and expect a return on its investment. Again, the payment is not part of my tax bill.

This means that I will pay one agency when I fill my bathtub, and another when I empty it. I can go to the bathroom for free, but I'll be billed when I flush the toilet. Mangano seeks to heap another layer of expense on me, a homeowner, and tell me it's not a tax increase because it's billed separately.

Had I suggested the Mangano plan when I took economics in college, I would still be sitting in that classroom.

Arnold Holtzman, Plainview
 

The Nassau County Tea Party Patriots attended a meeting of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. We carried signs and posters thanking NIFA for its diligence in keeping the county's budget in check and for acting as a faithful watchdog for the taxpayers, who over the years have been victimized by Republican and Democratic administrations' partisan politics.

It's a sad day for Nassau County when a nonpartisan, unpaid, expert state commission has to be brought in to protect citizens from the elected, highly partisan, paid politicians who represent only the Republican or Democratic Party faithful and deny the majority of taxpayers any say whatsoever in the direction of county government.

The tea party in Nassau County, like its counterparts throughout the state and nation, is growing larger every day. The tea party was a factor in sinking the Coliseum bond issue, and we look forward to becoming even a stronger force between now and 2012, at every level of government.

Gene Clark, Rockville Centre

Editor's note: The writer is a spokesman for the Nassau County Tea Party.