Town of North Hempstead schedules budget hearing after Election Day

The North Hempstead Town Board voted Tuesday to hold a public hearing on the proposed 2014 budget on Nov. 7, shooting down a proposal by a Republican councilwoman to hold the hearing before Election Day.

Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio, a Republican running for town supervisor, has argued that the hearing and vote should be held before Election Day to give voters a chance to see if the adopted budget will break the state tax cap.

Town Clerk Leslie Gross said she received a petition from Westbury, Carle Place and Mineola residents asking the town board to vote on the budget before Election Day.

“This issue of before Election Day or after Election Day is a red herring,” said John Riordan, presiding over his first town board meeting since his appointment as town supervisor this month. “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

GOP Councilman Angelo Ferrara, running for re-election this year, joined De Giorgio as the only two council members voting for her proposal to hold the public hearing next week.