Nassau County Comptroller Howard S. Weitzman said Governor Eliot Spitzer's proposed reforms of special taxing districts will help reduce costs, end abuses and provide for better oversight.

"These budget proposals will help end decades of patronage, nepotism and misuse of taxpayer dollars," Weitzman said. "They address an area of government that is outdated and rampant with waste."

The governor's proposed special district reforms included in his 2008-2009 New York State budget were based on recommendations from the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness, on which Weitzman serves. Weitzman had proposed these reforms to the commission.

"I am very pleased that the governor included so many recommendations from the commission in his budget, as well as the two major proposals which I have been advocating for throughout the past year," Weitzman said.

The first recommendation included in the budget calls for an end to salaries and benefits for special district commissioners; the second calls for commissioner-run sanitation districts to be placed under town management.

The proposal to end compensation and perks for special district commissioners would treat them the same as school board members or fire commissioners, who serve the community and receive no compensation.

"Let those wanting to serve their communities serve on these boards, minus the perks, the same as school board members and fire commissioners do," said Weitzman.

Manhasset Park District Commissioner Mark Sauvigne commented, "First of all I applaud any move to help lower the tax burden on our local residents. I can't speak for the rest of the special districts but I believe the savings to Manhasset residents would be minimal at best. Eliminating compensation, benefits or both would drastically decrease the available pool of talented candidates willing to serve as commissioner of the Manhasset Park District. I say this because most elections in recent history have gone uncontested. This will ultimately force the Town of North Hempstead to take over the duties and responsibilities of the MPD, reducing any possible cost savings. And if this happens will we get any guarantee that you won't see more people from other towns using our limited train parking availability. Would the annual Christmas tree lighting that we have all come to enjoy continue? If there are abuses in the system I believe we should all work together to end them. The ultimate elimination of all special districts is a drastic measure and I believe all other solutions should at least be considered first, so we can do what is in the best interests of all those involved. Call me cynical, but whenever someone tells me they are going to do something to lower my taxes I always wind up paying more."

The second proposal included in the governor's budget calls for commissioner-run sanitation districts to be subject to town management, which will help reduce costs, according to studies by Weitzman.

"Placing commissioner-run sanitation districts under town management will not only increase transparency and accountability, but will reduce costs to taxpayers and eliminate millions of dollars in unnecessary spending in areas such as insurance, professional fees and no bid contracts," Weitzman said.

In the Town of North Hempstead, Weitzman's office found the cheapest garbage collection of all. "Outside of the villages, all the garbage is private," he said. "It's done by carters under contract with either the town districts or special districts like Port Washington."

Weitzman said Town of North Hempstead officials believe they could get better pricing if they could control all the bidding that takes place. "There may also be some changes to some of the district boundaries to make some of those districts a little more efficient so they could get better prices from the carters; some districts may be too small to get a really good price, some may be too big," Weitzman said.

"The town level of government is equipped to handle the responsibilities that would flow to the town under this new legislation. The governor is taking a bold stand, but these times call for bold actions," Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman said. "We will work with the governor, the county executive and the comptroller to ensure that all necessary services are provided at the highest level and efficiency."

"I think the critical audits of special taxing districts that my office has done, coupled with the recent news stories on this issue, have led the governor to seize this opportunity to call for fundamental reform. Now is the time," Weitzman said.

Nassau County has more than 200 special taxing districts which last year levied $491M in property taxes in Nassau County, according to the comptroller.

Weitzman said the battle is far from over. The Governor's proposed budget will now head to the State Senate and Assembly for approval.

"I expect that the special interest groups will fight to hold onto their privileges," said Weitzman, "but the taxpayers are behind us and their voice will be heard."

Over the past three years, Weitzman has taken a leadership role on the issue of special taxing districts. In 2006 he held a countywide Conference on Nassau County Special Districts at Hofstra University with an eye on improving the efficiency and accountability of Nassau's 200 special tax districts. Under his urging, the Town of Hempstead agreed to join North Hempstead and Oyster Bay to exercise its authority to review the budgets of special taxing districts. The Comptroller's Office has conducted important audits of the Westbury, Franklin Square and Hicksville Water Districts and the Great Neck Pollution Control Districts, among others and last year issued a disparity study of special taxing districts which showed that depending on where a person lives, they could be paying far too much for garbage collection, water and fire protection. For more information and a look at the studies the comptroller's office has done on this issue, visit http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/index.html.

Pat Grace and Carissa Guardino contributed to this article.