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I decided to bust out the old calculator and do a little math to put things in perspective here. I pulled up the tax data for a typical home in my neighborhood for the 2008 year and broke each item down to what percentage of the tax bill it represented. Because the items on the Town/County list are broke down into more complicated subcategories, things like "Levittown Park District" and "Town of Hempstead - Town of Oyster Bay Joint Community Hall/Swimming Pool Parks District" are combined into simply "Parks" on my list. These percentages should be the same across the board for any home that is located within the same districts, however they will vary greatly in other areas of LI.
Total Property Tax %-------------100.0
Public Schools---------------------64.3 Police----------------------------10.3
Refuse Collection/Disposal-----------5.1
Library-----------------------------4.4
Fire District-------------------------3.3
Road Maintenance------------------3.0
Pools & Parks-----------------------2.7
County General Fund----------------2.5
Sewage----------------------------2.0
Nassau Community College----------0.8
Town General Fund-----------------0.6
Building/Zoning & Appeals-----------0.5
Lighting----------------------------0.4
County Environmental Bond---------0.1
Obviously, we can see that while the County Police Department does constitute the second highest total percentage of tax budget, it still represents a very small fraction in the big picture. The average salary in the Nassau County Police Department was $125,000 for last year, so I'll make the assumption that salary, benefits and pension far exceed operating costs and are the overwhelming majority of that 10.3% (I own a Crown Victoria too, and it's a gas hog but not that much of a gas hog!)
The home in our example pays roughly $9,000 a year in property taxes. If police operating costs, including salaries, were cut 25% across the board, that would work out to a little over 2.5% - or about $240 per year - savings for the average home. That's more than enough money to pay for a monthly LIRR pass to commute back and forth to Penn Station from this area. It's not exactly hitting lotto but it'd help the average family. The average salary would now be a little under $90,000. A huge pay cut? Absolutely, but would it attract a lower caliber of applicant? I seriously doubt it.
Of course none of that would ever happen, and before anyone jumps down my throat keep in mind I'm just tossing the numbers out there. I voted "yes" but I don't think 10.3% (or $927 a year) is unreasonable at all. There's no way that amount of money is driving anyone off the island, that's just absurd. I apologize for the fuzzy math as well, but I think everyone can see where I'm going with it.
I guess it is for a different thread, but there is one place we can obviously save a ton of money all across LI. As for the cops, I'm all for pay cuts or freezes....but I care less about that than about getting better cops, as I posted in another thread which is now deleted. I have my own personal serious issues with the quality of police work in Nassau County, even if it is only a minority of worthless cops representing the department as a whole poorly. Regardless, for that salary there should be no mistakes. I'm not posting my story again and don't want to get into it, but if you're really interested I'm sure that thread is still available through Google's cache.
Finally, there is no reason why this cannot be a civil discussion. Let's leave the accusations of "agendas" and "jealousy" aside even if there is some truth to them. I've been outright accused of being a criminal on the NYC forum for speaking my peace on the police and I really don't appreciate that. Police officers are government employees and civil servants, taxpayer funded. Don't take it personally if we, the taxpaying public, want to discuss where our tax dollars are going and how we might be able to hold onto them.
The one thing I must correct is the whole statement regarding police taxes driving people off the island. Of course police taxes by themselves aren't. Just like the LIRR monthly ticket prices aren't. But just because these costs are a small proporation of the total expenses doesn't mean they are part of the overriding problem. The police compensation issue is a valid and substantial issue, and anyone thinking of moving to LI should be made aware of that.
As far as police benefits go, I think that someone that has put their own life on the line for you and I on a daily basis deserves to be compensated for it. They put themselves in harms way EVERY SINGLE day, yes, there should be something special for the SPECIAL people who do this job.
As far as police benefits go, I think that someone that has put their own life on the line for you and I on a daily basis deserves to be compensated for it. They put themselves in harms way EVERY SINGLE day, yes, there should be something special for the SPECIAL people who do this job.
Do you honestly think that Suffolk cops put themselves in harms way every single day? I mean, seriously? And even if that's your criteria, they should still make less than NYPD.
The fact that there are so many applicants for so few spots shows how OVERpaid they are. How important their job may be isn't the issue is could they hire people just as qualified for less money, and the answer is yes.
What do you mean by "qualified" people? Do you think a recent college grad with a masters degree is the equivalent of someone with 5 years of street experience?
What do you mean by "qualified" people? Do you think a recent college grad with a masters degree is the equivalent of someone with 5 years of street experience?
I'm not sure what he thinks, but what I think is if police total compensation were cut (mostly the benefits) to reflect benefits more in line with what the vast majority of positions are entitled to, you'd see a marginal drop in those sitting for the tests. So instead of 30,000 sitting for 200 spots, you'd have 25,000 sitting for the 200 spots. I think out of 25,000 candidates we can find some decent cops, and save a few bucks for the county in the process.
Can we attract the same caliber of Police applicants for less money?
Yes we can, we already do. Its called the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office.
Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff's and Correction Officer's salary is half of what it is for Suffolk County Police officers yet somehow the Sheriff's Office is able to have about 1,100 sworn officers - only a few hundred less then the Suffolk County Police Department.
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