Core Services Working Group Makes Presentation to Town Board

Last week,  Brookhaven’s Core Services Working Group presented its review of core and discretionary town services and recommended various policy options for public-private partnerships

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko said the Working Group will conduct an analysis of what our core functions are and what our discretionary functions are.  He also said out of those discretionary functions, he is asking the group to make a presentation to the Town Board at our public work session on March 1 and provide us with a set of policy choices regarding which functions should remain, which we should end, and which one would be appropriate for public/private partnerships.

According to the town, it’s facing a $6 -10 million gap to fund balance in its 2013 budget. The town’s major revenues, including mortgage taxes, have dropped 73% since 2004 and remain stagnant. Fixed costs like pensions and health insurance continue to increase, and the town cannot continue to rely on surplus to plug its budget gaps.

“I thank the Core Services Working Group for their hard work over the past six weeks,” Lesko said in a statement. “With the financial challenges ahead it’s time for the elected officials to have a realistic conversation about what core services we are mandated to provide and our options for entering into public-private partnerships.”

The Core Services Working Group met several times a week since the State of the Town to examine the Town’s core and discretionary services and develop policy options for the Town Board. The working group presented the following options (information is directly from Brookhaven): 

• Policy Option 1: Create a Department of Public Works. This is a consolidation that would transfer functions from the Planning, Parks, Public Safety, and Waste Management Departments into one Department of Public Works and could result in $180,000 savings. It would also move the Building Department’s functions in the Planning Department and the Fire Prevention functions into Law, which means that all code enforcement would be more effectively coordinated.
• Policy Option 2: Partner with a professional company to run the Brookhaven Amphitheater. Since 2007, the Town has lost over $2.5 million at the Amphitheater.
• Policy Option 3: Explore public-private partnerships at our marinas, replicating the Davis Park model.  Last year, the Town partnered with a private marina operator at Davis Park. The Town could send out RFP’s to operate its other marinas. This could save a minimum of over $460,000.
• Policy Option 4: Re-invent the Jitney program by partnering with private taxi companies. The Working Group examined the Town of North Hempstead’s Project Independence Model, which partners with taxi companies. If the Town transitioned to a partnership with a local taxi company, this could result in extended service hours to seniors. The Working Group prepared an RFP for the Jitney program and estimated savings at $250,000 to $820,000, depending on the selected option.