Lesko Touts Brookhaven's Success in 2010

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko met with members of the press Tuesday afternoon at Town Hall to discuss the Town's areas of improvement in 2010.

Among the list of positive attributes was the narrowing of a $20 million budget gap for 2011. Using a five-point plan, which proactively addressed declining landfill revenues, mortgage tax receipts and rising expenditures, Lesko and his finance team were able to propose a balanced budget for next year.

Recently, the Town entered into contracts with white and blue collar unions, giving it the flexibility to eliminate all but three layoffs in the highway department. The renegotiated contracts will save Brookhaven $8 million over the next two years and $25 million over the life of the eight-year contract, Lesko said.

"It's a positive story in hostile climates," he added.

From the impacts of Brookhaven's fiscal plans came the highest bond ratings in town history, allowing the Town to operate on an interest rate of less than one percent on some large bond issues.

"I would contrast that to what you see at both counties," said Lesko, referring to Suffolk and Nassau, "you saw both get down graded."

Brookhaven was given an Aa2 by Moody's and an AA+ by Standard & Poor's. Suffolk has an AA- rating from S&P, while Nassau remained at Aa3 and the county's rating outlook moved to negative from stable.

Lesko mentioned Brookhaven's caps: spending, debt and tax, and suggested there are no other municipalities in the country with all three caps in place.

"It provides structural fiscal stability for the town," he said.

His second point of interest was the blight to light initiative, which again, he said, is unlike anything other municipalities are doing.

Brookhaven hopes to develop blighted properties by providing code-based incentives via a scoring system to rank severity of light and potential for the redevelopment.

Adding to Lesko's quest for preservation is the Carmen's River initiative, chaired by planning guru Lee Koppelman. The Town is building a protection plan, which Lesko said is the most important one since the Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act of 1993.

Other 2010 programs to note:

• Brookhaven acquired 140 acres of open space land this year.
• The increased its fines by 170 percent.
• Lesko said there was a new management policy this year, a new central receiving program for office supplies and a new and improved website built for the Town.
• The Town's planning department was restructured to harness a, "more team based approached, instead of departmental."
• The Town inked a deal with , allowing the company to transport approximately nine million gallons of leachate per year from the Brookhaven Town Landfill. Covanta incinerates municipal solid waste to generate salable electricity and uses the leachate as "quenching water" to extinguish ash residue so it is no longer capable of combustion or ignition. The move will save Brookhaven nearly $500,000 over the next four years.