The Great Neck Park District Board of Commissioners held its annual budget hearing on Thursday, Sept. 25, at Great Neck House. The public hearing was the final step in the public access part of the budget process before the budget is submitted in November to the Town of North Hempstead for final approval; however, as a result of the discussions held that evening, the commissioners moved to table action on the budget until the Oct. 23 meeting.

The 2009 proposed budget calls for $12,966,220 in total spending, a 10.5 percent increase from the 2008 budget. Given that there is an estimated $340,000 fund balance and an anticipated $2,666,000 in revenues, it will be necessary to raise $9,960,220 in taxes.

This year the Park District's Request for Special Items totaled $117,835, which include a $30,000 allotment for a dog park and $14,000 for a new roof over the preschool at Steppingstone Park.

In their opening speeches, Commissioners Robert A. Lincoln, Jr. and Ruth J. Tamarin both emphasized the difficulty in trimming the budget given the economic impact that property tax increases have upon residents, especially in the midst of the country's current economic crisis. Commissioner Tamarin reminded the residents in attendance that "we knew three years ago that this time was coming [when the effects of the Parkwood Bond Debt would be felt] and now the time is here." Indeed, this anticipated effect is the largest single year impact of the cost of debt for the construction ($816,000 for 2009) and comprises approximately two-thirds of the necessary budget increase for the coming year.

The net increase in taxes for the average taxpaying household will be $57 (based on a $700,000 assessment), after taking into account a reduction of $72,000 in discretionary expenditures, which reduces the overall increase by $3 per household. The components of the increase are $38 for the Parkwood debt, $4 for utilities, $7 for union contractual salaries, $6 to cover the cost of health insurance, $5 to cover other state and federal mandated employee benefits. The overall average tax increase is approximately 18 percent. By class, that means an 18.9 percent increase for class one (one, two, and three family homeowners), a 20.9 percent increase for class two (cooperative apartment owners and owners of condominiums four stories or higher), a 20.4 percent increase for class three (utilities such as LIPA) and a 16.7 percent increase for class four (commercial property).

Commissioner Ivar R. Segalowitz noted that increased costs for energy such as electricity, heat, and vehicle fuel have affected the Park District. Measures to conserve power include the co-generation of electricity (the surplus of which is sold back to LIPA) at Parkwood and the use of natural gas. Park District Superintendent Neil Marrin also stated that the Park District is contacting state officials to see if, as a municipality, the Park District can participate in a lease-to-buy program to replace its vehicular fleet to hybrid.

Boris Ourlicht, a retired school teacher who has been a Great Neck resident for 45 years, questioned the prudence of the dog park and asked why the Park District does not have a program similar to the STAR exemption for people who live on a fixed income. Superintendent Marrin replied that a program such as the STAR exemption must be established at the state level while Commissioner Lincoln reminded the audience that the STAR exemption is for school taxes only. Commissioner Tamarin also noted that financial aid is and has been available for those who would like to take classes offered by the Park District. Commissioner Lincoln also noted that the dollar anticipation for the dog park is just that; an anticipation. "We may lower it, we don't know yet," Commissioner Lincoln said. The Park District is working toward securing a donation from Home Depot to help with the dog park but that has not yet been confirmed.

When another Great Neck resident, Stanley Seroka, expressed concern that the existing cost of the Parkwood pool yields a $1.2 million dollar loss per year until the bond retires in 15 years, all for a 10-12 week business season, Commissioner Tamarin explained that "the Park District is not a business. We are trying to provide a mix [of services] for the entire community and (in doing so) we take into account the community's needs for recreation and education." The commissioners also stated that the debt service interest impact was originally anticipated to be $100 per family but is actually $78.

Attendee concern over the $30,000 allotment (based on a $1 million use) for the Park District's new credit card acceptance was explained by Superintendent Marrin as "a service that will be more than offset by the 4.5 percent increase in fees (that is being established). Finance Director Stephen Kessler emphasized the value of credit card acceptance in raising revenue because of the Park's large cost programs such as camp and hockey. In responding to a projected decrease in total revenues for 2009 by $33,200, Superintendent Marrin stated that the commissioners "try to be conservative in [their] projection of revenues."

The Park District has grown a fund balance to permit funding some "one-time" improvements with a portion of those funds rather than by raising taxes. This cash reserve is approximately 7.5 percent of the 2009 expenditure budget. "The board of commissioners likes to keep the unreserved fund balance between 5 percent and 10 percent and we have done that," said Finance Director Stephen Kessler. As Mr. Kessler pointed out, this fund reserve is a contingency reserve. We have the option of further tapping into that to reduce the budget for 2010 or 2011. As it grows, at some point it will get plugged back into the budget as income," he explained.

As concerned residents proceeded to implore the board to be even more prudent in cutting the budget down further, Commissioner Lincoln concluded the hearing by moving to table action on the budget until the superintendent and finance director can review and see where, if possible, further cutting may be done. The board will ratify a final budget at the Oct. 23 meeting. The Town of North Hempstead will hear the budget on Thursday, Nov. 6.