Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman released a report on cost disparities in special districts and Nassau County that found that, in some instances, taxpayers are overpaying for certain services that fall under the jurisdiction of special districts.

"Hundreds of thousands of Nassau County residents pay far too much for sanitation, water and fire service," said Weitzman.

The county comptroller went on to say that when people move to Nassau County, they do so because of the quality of the schools and the ambience of the community they choose to live in. "Nobody moves into Nassau County because of the quality of the garbage collection. They expect to receive high quality garbage, fire and water services and those services should be delivered at a fair and reasonable price," Weitzman said.

However, according to Weitzman's report "Disparities in Special Districts in Nassau County," services such as garbage collection, water and fire services aren't being delivered at a fair price in some of Nassau County's commissioner-run special districts.

Weitzman points to waste and abuse in some of the special taxing districts in the county. "Residents overpay by millions of dollars for these basic services," he said. "Governments need to take the necessary steps to cut expenses and deliver the same service for less money. Costs to residents should not be determined by a 'wheel of fortune' mentality."

According to the comptroller, Nassau residents pay anywhere from $301-$974 per household for garbage service alone with residents paying $87-$472 in water taxes and $50-$592 in fire taxes per household. In total, over 200 special taxing districts in the county collected over $500 million in taxes in 2007.

For example, the tiny community of Cathedral Gardens is served by its own water district but essentially only performs the service of moving water from the West Hempstead Water District to its own. The Cathedral Gardens Water District has no employees yet it pays a salary to three water commissioners. "Perhaps, residents would be better served if they just allowed West Hempstead to run their operations," said Weitzman.

According to Weitzman, towns provide water, garbage and fire services at a lower cost than commissioner-run districts. His report states that:

In 2006, the average household in the commissioner-run Hicksville Water District (in the Town of Oyster Bay) paid $156 in property taxes and an additional $84 in water charges based on 100,000 gallons per year for a total of $231 while those in the Town of Hempstead's Levittown-based water district paid $58 in property taxes associated with water service and $99 for water usage charges for a total of $157.

However, according to the comptroller's report, not all commissioner-run districts proved to be more expensive. The commissioner-run Jericho Water District provided services at the lowest cost across the board with residents paying just $9 in property taxes and $78 in usage charges for an average annual cost of $87.

In terms of fire service, residents living in the commissioner-run Hicksville Fire District and Levittown Fire District paid an average of $230 and $241, respectively, in 2006. In the neighboring commissioner-run Jericho Fire District residents paid an average of $357 for 2006 while in North Hempstead Town-run Carle Place Fire Protection District, the average cost was $150.

Weitzman's report also found similar disparities in the garbage districts and is calling for towns to take garbage collection away from commissioner-run special districts. "We estimate that if the Town of Hempstead took over the garbage collection for the 70,000 residents in their town served by commissioner-run districts, they could save almost $18 million, which works out to $168 per year per family," Weitzman said. "We are calling for state legislation to have the towns in Nassau County take over completely the provision of garbage services in all of the unincorporated areas."

According to Weitzman's report, residents of the special Town of Hempstead Sanitation District 6 spent an average of $974 for garbage disposal and collection services in 2006 while residents served by the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department itself paid an average of $674. In Oyster Bay Garbage District 1 and 2, district employees provide sanitation services cost an average of $655.

Among the garbage districts listed in Weitzman's report, the district providing sanitation services at the lowest cost was the Port Washington Garbage District. Residents living within that district, which is located within the Town of North Hempstead, paid an average of $301 per household.

"Town-run districts run more efficiently and are held to a higher level of accountability than commissioner-run districts," said the comptroller. "As we look for any ways to reduce the property tax burden of our residents, we must look to reduce the levels of government and allowing the towns to service garbage collection is a big step in that direction."

According to Weitzman, "The reality is it's going to be up to the people in these areas. Residents of Nassau County have become used to local control and they're very comfortable with it but they have to understand that local control does lead to higher costs. We can deliver these services in a different manner at the same quality that they're getting now."