Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray publicly slammed County Assessor Harvey Levinson's proposal to create a modest county income tax at a press conference in front of the Garden City Post Office April 15, deadline day for filing tax returns. She described the assessor's idea as a "recipe for fiscal chaos." FULL STORY

Completing what Mayor Phil Guarnieri described as a "painstaking and laborious process," the board of trustees presented Floral Park's 2005-06 tentative operating budget of $19,511,584 during a hearing April 13. Trustees reserved decision that evening but later adopted the budget, without changes, at the April 19 board of trustees meeting. FULL STORY