April 2018

Post Office Box 231239, Great Neck, NY 11023, NY 11040

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NCVOA April 2018 General Membership Meeting

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 FROM THE PRESIDENTS DESK:

Colleagues and Friends:

For most of the country, March Madness means several weeks of college basketball mania as we scout the qualifying teams, prepare our brackets and hope our selected team makes it to the Final Four and, ultimately, wins the NCAA national championship.

But March Madness took on and entirely different meaning for Long Islanders as we endured one Nor’easter after another for what could have been called March Winter Madness. At a time when we typically are preparing for spring cleanup, we were hammered with four winter storms in a three-week span. Our average March snowfall is 3.1 inches. This March we had over 31 inches! One of the storms forced us to cancel the March General Membership meeting, which may have been a first for the NCVOA. I hope you were able to manage the snow removal challenges and keep your village functioning with little disruption. Keep your fingers crossed we do not see snow in April!

Smart Government Committee Meets with County Executive

The Executive Committee and I met March 22 with County Executive Curran and her senior staff for the initial Smart Government meeting. The Smart Government initiative originated during Tom Suozzi’s administration and continued with Ed Mangano It brings together the NCVOA leadership team and the county executive for regular in-depth dialogue on issues impacting villages.

We discussed several items during our nearly two-hour meeting, the most pressing being the equal sharing of sales tax revenue. Faced with a $23 million budget gap for 2018, County Executive Curran stated she has the arduous task of having to reduce spending in all areas of county government. . While we understand her perspective, we do not necessarily agree. We plan to continue our efforts by exploring other possible avenues for increasing sales tax sharing.

Real property tax assessment was another timely topic we addressed. We recommended the county executive incorporate a village role when she finalizes her new approach to property assessment.

Regarding the Nassau County Police Department, County Executive Curran said she is reviewing the possibility of re-opening the 6^th Precinct. She also was receptive to our perspective as to how the county’s current two-officer coverage for ambulance calls leaves villages with inadequate police protection.

I believe the initial meeting was productive and we look forward to working with the county executive and her staff in the coming months.

Legislature Considering AIM Funding Increase

Governor Cuomo’s proposed 2018 budget contains no increase in AIM funding – the seventh consecutive year AIM has remained flat and the tenth year since the last increase.

That is not sitting well with the senate and assembly, who are looking to increase AIM according to a report published in PoliticoPro NY.

In his March 15, 2018 article, reporter Jimmy Vielkind stated, “Democrats who dominate the Assembly proposed a $60 million increase, while the Republican-led Senate suggested a $14 million increase. The overlap was discussed briefly at a legislative budget conference committee that allows rank-and-file legislators to have more input into the closed, centralized process of budget talks.”

Increasing AIM funding is a NYCOM and NCVOA legislative priority. I urge all mayors and trustees to contact their respective state legislators and express support for an AIM increase.

Incumbents Prevail in March Village Elections

With March and June being the months for village elections, residents from several villages headed to the polls on Tuesday, March 21 to cast their ballots. I would like to personally congratulate the following villages officials for being re-elected to new terms of office:

Lynbrook- Mayor Alan Beach

Mineola – Mayor Scott Strauss and Trustees George Durham and Dennis Walsh

Munsey Park – Trustee Jennifer Noone

Sea Cliff – Trustee Kevin McGilloway

Williston Park – Mayor Paul Ehrbar and Trustee Kevin Rynne

I also would like to congratulate and welcome to the NCVOA newly elected Village Trustees:

Munsey Park – Anthony Sabino

Sea Cliff – Henriette Rohl

Williston Park– William O’Brien

I also would like to congratulate Trustee Hillary Becker, a member of the NCVOA Executive Board , who has been appointed  Deputy Mayor of the Village of Lynbrook.

Former Congressman Israel and NYCOM President Miccio at April Meeting

We are fortunate to have former U.S. Congressman Steve Israel as the guest speaker at our upcoming April 10, 2018 General Membership meeting. Congressman Israel is now chair of Long Island University’s LIU Global Institute.

James Miccio, mayor of the Village of Fishkill and NYCOM President, also will be attending our April 10 meeting. Mayor Miccio will be updating the membership on NYCOM’s efforts regarding the governor’s proposed budget.

The meeting will be held at The Westbury Manor. The cocktail reception begins at 6:30pm, followed by the dinner/meeting at 7:30 pm. Please make every effort to attend what promises to be an interesting and informative evening.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to seeing you April 10.

Sincerely,

Mayor Robert T. Kennedy

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2018-2019 Nominating Committee Selected:

 

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