Wouldn’t it be nice if truth-in-advertising laws applied to politicians as well, at least in regard to the way they report information?
The recent News article that suggested that the Village of Great Neck Plaza would run an annual budget of $200,000 less than the previous year is a farce.
In fact, had anyone bothered to read the transcript from the January 19, 2011 village trustees meeting, they would learn that village officials will exceed that $200,000 number by borrowing money through a bond issuance to address a handful of “capital” expenses. So while a few expense lines were removed from the forthcoming operating budget, the village is doing what they typically do, distorting the facts in a way that will leave all taxpayers carrying the bag (and this bag is going to be full of debt service costs).
None of us should be surprised by the way the village casually throws around the $200,000 figure because that is precisely the number those officials hope to cause confusion around. You see, it is $200,000 that we, village taxpayers, pay annually for our esteemed part-time politicians’ salaries, plus health insurance for the mayor and her family, as well as that of Trustees Schneiderman and Rosen’s families, plus the cost of the pension they work so hard to “earn.” And while the political elite will try to demonize me for highlighting these facts and figures, it is rather bothersome that the residents of this village are forced to sit idly by as the mayor and trustees selfishly find themselves only able to tell half-truths.
What amazes me is how these politicians are able to find money to renovate LIRR property surrounding the train station, property that is not owned by the village, yet they can’t find money to fix the elevator in the Maple Street parking garage that hasn’t worked in years. It is amazing that the mayor is able to find time for her weekly “visits” to the assisted living centers (in return for oodles of absentee ballots that determine the outcome of every local election cycle), yet she can’t seem to find time to walk around the village and speak to residents and store owners.
It is also amazing that Trustee Schneiderman represents the village on the BID board and some unknown Great Neck Business Circle (that is both absent from the web and the official record at village hall), and yet he has never offered a report about the urgent needs of our downtown to his colleagues or to the public at any trustee meeting in recent memory. And it is amazing that the great defenders of this administration are not village residents or store owners, they are not leaders in the community or even those who wish to see it improve, but rather they are those that have political and business interests before the current administration.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an administration that we could rely on to do the right thing and trust to address the needs of this village?
Michael S. Glickman
Great Neck