Calling them "a hidden government" that drains taxpayers' wallets, Nassau County Comptroller Howard S. Weitzman announced that his office plans to begin auditing some of the more than 400 special taxing districts located throughout the county.

"People wonder why their taxes are so high in Nassau County," Weitzman said. "One reason is the profusion of special taxing districts in the county. There are nearly 400 such districts, with 1,600 different tax rates, in addition to village, town and county governments. These separate taxing authorities amount to a hidden government that drains the vitality of the county and taxpayers' wallets."

The comptroller will be auditing five such districts, including three sanitation districts within the Town of Hempstead, the largest town in the county, and one each from the Town of North Hempstead and the Town of Oyster Bay. The sanitation districts were selected for audit based upon criteria such as high tax rates, large accumulated surpluses, and high tax increases in 2004-2005.

New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi said, "Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and I have called for an overhaul of New York's public authorities to make them more accountable to the public. A similar situation exists in Nassau County, where there are literally hundreds of special governmental units. In beginning these audits, Comptroller Weitzman is addressing the need for greater public oversight of these taxing districts."

Weitzman said, "The growth of these special districts reflects the haphazard development of Nassau County in the last century from a collection of unassociated towns, villages and hamlets. There are water districts, garbage collection districts, garbage disposal districts, public parking districts; fire protection districts; park districts. Some of them may be necessary, and some may be well-run. But the persistence of so many separate governmental authorities, with their own employees and tax rates, tends to hide the true cost of local government and contributes to our high local tax burden. Ultimately, we need to consider whether town governments can consolidate some of these districts and operate them with greater efficiency."

The new audits are intended to provide a better understanding of the districts' expenditures, hiring and procurements practices, and the efficiency of their operations, Weitzman says, and based on the findings of the first group of audits, he will consider additional audits of special districts.

The decision to initiate audits follows County Assessor Harvey Levinson's report last month, which found that such special taxing jurisdictions spend millions of dollars each year with little public scrutiny or oversight. The assessor had called on the county comptroller to audit those districts within his purview.

The districts to be audited include:

* Sanitary District #1, which includes the communities of Valley Stream South, Woodmere, Hewlett, and Inwood

* Sanitary District #2, which includes South Hempstead, Baldwin and Roosevelt

* Sanitary District #6, which includes Elmont, North Valley Stream, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, and Lakeview

* The Port Washington Garbage District (Town of North Hempstead)

* The Syosset Sanitary District (Town of Oyster Bay).

A 2002 audit of some of these special districts by then State Comptroller McCall found that several districts kept unreasonably high reserve balances. Weitzman's audits will examine administrative and operating expenses, procurement practices, and the appropriateness of fund balances.