The Village of East Hills Board of Trustees listened to a presentation at its meeting Tuesday night for a new contracted IT service provider for the village, which they say is necessary to avoid a security breach.
The presentation was provided by Deputy Treasurer Richard Cassar, who said the village had so far been providing a “Band-Aid fix” to its IT problems. The total cost for these fixes amounted to $12,973 in 2022 and $9,000 in 2021.
He said the village has never contracted a paid service provider for its IT.
Cassar gathered proposals from four different companies, of which he presented to the board.
Three of the companies – Atlantic PC, TCI Technologies and My IT Department – came to the village to assess its needs and what is required to be compliant and safe.
Atlantic PC also offered a workup for the village, which was used to base quotes from the other companies, Cassar said.
Cassar said the village is looking for an IT service provider that can work remotely to address issues, which he said all four companies provide.
The board did not make a decision on its contracted IT services.
The board also rescheduled a public hearing on Sept. 20 for a bill proposed that would require nitrogen-reducing septic systems for new construction in the village.
This bill would keep up with initiatives from Nassau County to encourage environmentally conscious waste systems
The board listened to a presentation at their June meeting from Justin Jobin, an environmental scientist with Coastal Wastewater Solution, which is consulting with Nassau County on its initiative to push nitrogen-reducing septic systems.
These environmentally-conscious systems are built to prevent the flow of nitrogen, a pollutant, into local water sources.
To promote the use of nitrogen-reducing septic systems, Nassau County created the S.E.P.T.I.C. program.
This grant program offers up to $20,000 to eligible property owners to go towards the purchase and installation of one of these new septic tanks.
Eligible applicants are small businesses, residents or nonprofits that produce less than 1,000 gallons a day in sanitary flow, which would be generated by a nine-bedroom home. It is also only available for replacements of an existing septic system and not for new construction.
The program has a total of $8 million in available funding, which can support 403 applicants. It is funded by state funds and federal American Rescue Plan funds.
Jobin previously told the board that the program is seeking additional funding and is looking towards villages to support the initiative by passing ordinances that progress the use of nitrogen-reducing septic systems.
The East Hills Board of Trustees will convene again at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, which is when they will hold the public hearing for the bill on nitrogen-reducing septic systems.