Vow to keep fighting tax in Gordon Heights

A day after an incumbent commissioner won a pivotal election in the Long Island fire district with the steepest taxes, some residents vowed to keep fighting for lower taxes.

Gordon Heights Fire District's commissioners -- and the district's supporters -- said Avery Dean's win was a victory for public safety and the community's identity.

Dean defeated Joyce Bourne by a single vote in an election that garnered a record total of 541 votes in the 900-home hamlet in Brookhaven. Some residents of the community, where fire taxes are more than four times the Long Island average, pay more than $1,500 per year to the district.

Bourne said opponents of the taxes will pit a candidate against incumbent Commissioner James Kelly in 2012. Opponents will also continue to work with the town on a plan to drastically reorganize the district.

"We will continue to fight until our taxes are like everyone else's," said Bourne.

The Gordon Heights fire commission consists of three district-backed members and two others.

Kelly, who is backed by the district, said Dean's win will allow the district to trim its budget without jeopardizing service.

"Fire safety and life and property is very important today, and you'd have to be kind of looney not to recognize that," Kelly said.

The Gordon Heights fire commission race was among the most watched of its kind on Long Island in Tuesday night's district races. The district has become a touchstone for the Islandwide debate about special district taxes.

District backers say the Gordon Heights Fire Department is historically significant because it was the first all-black force in Suffolk County.

After Tuesday's election, one district backer took to the streets with a bullhorn, declaring slogans such as: "We are not defeated."

Brookhaven Town officials are working on a plan to reduce district taxes by restructuring the district. The district could merge with a neighboring force or the town could seize the district's finances, officials have said.

"The Town will continue to work with the Gordon Heights Fire Commissioners and the community to find ways to reduce the costs of their service while ensuring public safety," Supervisor Mark Lesko said in a statement.