"I am happy to report that the Town [of North Hempstead] is on its strongest financial footing in Town history."

So claimed Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, while delivering his annual State of Town address, one given last Thursday at the George Washington Manor in downtown Roslyn.

In addition to economics, the address was devoted to the challenges and problems of suburban life, including the environment, the state of the town's municipal governments, and various TONH initiatives.

Kaiman opened the address by noting that the town had maintained its Aa2 Moody's rating, while also receiving an upgrade from Standard & Poor's Rating Service to AAA/AA from the previous A+.

The Moody's rating, Kaiman said, puts the town in the top one percent among all the 1,500 towns, villages, and cities in New York State.

"These ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's mean direct savings to our taxpayers on many levels," Kaiman said. "Not only do the town's capital projects cost less, but all districts that bond under the town's authority save money as well."

On environmental issues, Kaiman touted cleanup projects in brownfields, contaminated properties, parks and waterways all throughout the town, plus the acquisition of grant monies for restoration projects at, among other places, the Roslyn Pond Park, the Manorhaven Beach Boat Ramp, and Bar Beach in Port Washington.

However, the environment, Kaiman added, as with other issues needs help "from beyond our borders."

The Town of North Hempstead has, within its borders, over 100 municipal governments, 31 villages, 14 school districts, 60 special districts. As a result, the need for specialized services is greater than ever. That includes water, fire protection, garbage removal, parks maintenance, and education.

The town's unique position has its drawbacks, too.

"[We] are not so sure that we need so many layers, so many versions, so many administrators, so many consultants, so many governments, although, we generally like the ones that serve us directly," Kaiman said.

Referring perhaps, to the Roslyn School District scandal, Kaiman added that when "decisions involving millions of dollars are made regularly" it is possible for "one corrupt or incompetent manager or employee" to "wreak havoc before a problem is discovered."

Toward that end, Kaiman called for a dialogue between municipal entities. "We need to work with one another as if we were one government," he said.

Kaiman also noted that the town would soon establish an intermunicipal task force, one to be comprised of 15 to 20 representatives from villages, special districts, and school districts, all in an effort to address such issues as ambulance services and park projects.

More specifically, Kaiman touted the establishment of the town's 311/Town Stat system, a townwide hotline designed to solve everyday problems more rapidly.

Hailing 311 as the "model of constituent response and management," Kaiman said that the town has, so far, received up to 5,000 calls per month even though the entire program has not yet been fully implemented.

"With the 311 system firmly in place, I now reaffirm that the Town of North Hempstead will fill any pothole within two days of a 311 request, we will replace any streetlight within four days, and all code complaints will receive a response within three business days," Kaiman proudly added.

Kaiman also spoke of the town's Project Independence, one designed to assist the town's senior citizens. Project Independence, entails, among other things, providing social workers, doctors, handymen, and snow shoveling to seniors during times of need.

"This program sends the message to our seniors that we are your community, we are your town, and we will be there for you when you need us," Kaiman said.

Finally, Kaiman touted cultural amenities and programs, such North Hempstead Day, in which the town celebrates its own 1773 succession from the Town of Hempstead, making it the first community in all of the 13 colonies to do so.

On the subject of parks and roads, Kaiman said that the coming year will see a "complete overhaul of Donald Street Park in Roslyn and Mill Pond Park in Port Washington."

After thanking numerous local and state politicians, including those now serving and those, such as former Governor George Pataki, who are out of politics, Kaiman ended as he began, on an upbeat note.

"I am proud to tell you that the Town of North Hempstead is alive and well. The state of the town is great and we continue to work hard to make this town the best that it can be."