Serving Port Washington, Manorhaven, Flower Hill, Baxter Estates, Port Washington North, Sands Point
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Friday, April 7, 2023
Vol. 9, No. 14
PortWashingtonTimes SANTOS ATTENDS TRUMP RALLY PAGE 6
NICHOLAS CENTER CLIENTS BLANK SLATE MEDIA WINS 6 STATE AWARDS VISIT YANKEE STADIUM PAGE 2
PAGE 9
Flower Hill OKs budget, 1.5% tax hike $4M in spending approved, 7% decrease from current year BY C A M E RY N O A K ES The Village of Flower Hill unanimously approved a $4 million budget with a 1.5% tax increase for 2023-2024 Monday evening, marking a 7% overall budget decrease from the current fiscal year. Mayor Randall Rosenbaum said the tax increase is due in part to a rise in the village’s expenses for fire protection. He said the Roslyn Fire Department raised its fire budget by 6% due to a reassessment and the department opted not to engage in a five-year phase-in, which the village requested. Because of this Rosenbaum said the village is paying the increase immediately. Flower Hill has yet to sign the contract with the Roslyn Fire Department, Rosenbaum said, as the village is seeking a resolution with the department beforehand. Overall, the expenses paid by the village for fire protection and services from the Roslyn Fire Department are increasing by 22.41%. The village also pays for the Port Washington Fire Department services, but Rosenbaum said its budget increase was reasonable and will mean a 2.4% increase in expenses for the village.
State aid has dropped by 48% for the village, amounting to $601,822. This dollar amount contributes to 15% of the budget. Village Treasurer Suzanne Tangredi said during the village’s budget workshop March 27 that state aid decreased because the village has received money through the American Rescue Plan Act for the past two years. These are federal grants offered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus not identified as state aid. More than half of the village’s budget expense categories are declining. This includes a 30% decrease for “staff/ clerk cont.” expenses, a 35% drop in “highway” expenses and a 17% reduction in “code enforcement.” The “staff/clerk cont.” category is decreasing because of one-time expenses for contractual services for software and scanning that the village had previously engaged in, the board explained at their budget workshop. Highway expenses are falling due in part to half the number of seasonal employees. Rosenbaum said code enforcement is decreasing because the village has a new code enforcer whose hours will Continued on Page 41
PHOTO BY KAREN RUBIN/NEWS-PHOTOS-FEATURES.COM
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his ‘Florida Blueprint’ at the Cradle of Aviation Museumon Saturday. See story on page 12.
Town OKs $3.1M in federal funding for sewer project BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y The North Hempstead Town Board Tuesday night unanimously voted to allocate $3.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds
to the Manhasset sewer project and appointed Kristen Schwaner as the town’s comptroller for the remainder of the year. The vote on the sewer funds comes after months of delays in
which town Democrats called for answers about the project, including the legality of using the federal money for the sewers. “Never in my lifetime did I think Continued on Page 40
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