1. Pensions: For a few days last week, Newsday's website had a searchable database of public pensions being paid to Long Islanders. I wish they'd put it back, so that more of us can all see the pensions of $25,000, $15,000 and even less earned by many of our old teachers or the neighbor who worked all those years at the park. Some fat cats have six-figure pensions, but the average pensioner in the main employee retirement system receives $16,202. There are still numerous civil service positions that start at salaries below $20,000. There are lots of little old ladies who, after years and years in those dreary offices, are still salaried at fast food restaurant levels, or less. The pensions that they earn, that we promised them, will be their payment, in lieu of the salary, perks and respect that many others get. It burns me up when some guy writes a letter or an editorial complaining that public pensions are so much better than his and we need to do something about that. In the past quarter-century, most private sector employees gave up collective bargaining (to please Mr. Reagan?) and now their pension and job security are gone. Fix that. Don't pick on little old ladies.... 2. Polls: We heard a lot last week about how a poll by the Sienna College people supposedly found that 74 percent of New Yorkers support a property tax cap, and this was repeated without question in the media. Here was one warning bell about that survey: There was overwhelming support (66 percent) for the "cap" even among New York City residents, who don't pay school property taxes like we do and who may not even understand what a school budget vote is. The four "agree-or-disagree" questions were worded in such a way that support for a tax cap seemed to be the right answer if you didn't want to support runaway property taxes.... 3. Professionalize: Looks like Nassau County legislators will be putting up a referendum that will make the top job at the Board of Assessors an appointed rather than an elected position, to "professionalize" the position. I'm not sure anyone will notice a big difference. The rest of the Board of Assessors is already appointed, and a majority makes policy. In the 1960s, the most prominent figure and moving force on the board was not the elected chairman, but the appointed vice chairman, the late Horace Kramer, an expert in property taxes who for many years was counsel on the subject to the state Assembly. So this isn't a change that's going to rock a lot of boats.... 4. Piffle: Some leaders are pushing to have elections for everything at the General Election in November, or at least having all districts vote on the same day. Besides the General Election, I get to vote in school board, library board and water commissioner elections on three days in May and December. That's about average for most Nassau residents, and I think we can handle it, if we're going to have all these layers of government in the first place. Separate elections has some benefits, if only to prevent even nastier situations. If special districts all vote at the same elections, you're going to have fire commissioners defeated because some people are peeved at something the garbage commissioner did. If districts vote at the general election, you're going to have water commissioners openly siding with one political party, because having the backing and resources of a political organization will often be the only way to mount a viable or visible campaign. There is almost no precise overlap between districts, and some Nassau County Board of Elections precinct inspectors still can't figure out how to keep Republicans and Democrats from voting in the wrong primary election. Can you imagine what would happen if there are 15 machines, each with a different combination of districts? Or would people have to drive to four different polling places in one day to vote in each election? Three-quarters of our local registered voters no longer participate in our town and county elections (in some neighborhoods, two in 10 eligible citizens don't even register). Let's see our officials tackle that major crisis in participation before yapping about the legitimacy of other elections.
