Editorial: Referendum on garbage district?
Laura Mallay, the executive director of the organization Residents for Efficient Special Districts stands with a sign in front of the Town of Hempstead's Sanitation District #2 offices on Grand Avenue in Baldwin. Credit: Kevin P Coughlin, 2011
Could consolidation really be coming to the land of the overgoverned?
This week the Town of Hempstead will announce whether a referendum to dissolve Hempstead's Sanitary District No. 2 should go before voters. More than 5,000 signatures were collected by Residents for Efficient Special Districts, a group that claims homeowners would save half on their garbage bill, which averages about $500, if the town hauled their trash instead of the existing patronage-stuffed special district. If the requirements of a 2009 state law intended to make it easier for voters to rid themselves of redundant services are met, the sanitation district has 30 days to pick a date for a vote within the following 50 to 90 days. If the reform group wins, it would be the very first consolidation of municipal services on Long Island under this law.
