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For this column I have interviewed Town of Oyster Bay
Democratic Councilwoman, Bonnie Eisler.
BACKGROUND Age 44; married with two children. Resident of Woodbury
for 12 years and originally from Bellmore. Councilwoman since January
2000. Masters in Business Administration Degree from Northeastern
University in Marketing (Boston).
MESSAGE TO COUNTY EXECUTIVE SUOZZI Whatever help I can give you in
Oyster Bay politically, or on a County level financially, based on my
business skills, is available to you. Be careful and tread lightly. I'm
sure that you will be successful in the end.
MASTER PLAN This was one of my campaign goals when I ran in 1999. We
needed to limit arbitrary development that would over-burden the
infrastructure in our community and negatively impact the quality of
life for our residents. I did not and will not take contributions from
developers.
RE COUNTY ASSESSMENTS An overdue process. Many people have been
over-assessed for years. I believe, based on my discussions with
Assessors Chairman, Charlie O'Shea, that Oyster Bay residents will be
impacted less than residents in Hempstead and North Hempstead.
TO SUPERVISOR VENDITTO My pet peeve is your accessibility. I would
like to have more give-and-take in order to get the business of the
people done.
COUNCILMANIC DISTRICTS A "double-edged" sword. Right now we
are all accountable on all issues in the Town. Councilmanics leaves
residents with less representation. They can have council members, that
do not represent their areas, voting on issues that affect their areas.
THE TOWN BUDGET PROCESS The budget book is incomprehensible. I am
surprised that Town Board members never question any budget items during
the hearings. I have designed a top-level report for each of the legal
entities of the Town that will make budget review much easier.
THE ENVIRONMENT I've been working with Christie Todd Whitman's office
regarding the Liberty Industrial site (Farmingdale). We must have an
SL-3 cleanup for the site. We also need as much open space as possible.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING We're exploring different options to stop our
young people from leaving Long Island. Using S2 for seniors as a model,
we may try to do it for younger people. It may not be possible.
GOALS (FOR THE NEXT YEAR) All financial reporting needs to be
user-friendly, continue to ensure that the Town wisely uses the dollars
from the SEABOND fund, fight against cell towers when they are put close
to a school and implementing good planning practices, that limit the
impact of new development on our roadways.
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