Comments on: Nassau Sewage System Privatization Could Flush County’s Future Down The Drain

By: jr

jr — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:53:53 +0000

The best solution would be to do what Indianapolis did and have it go to a not for profit entity partnership.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:17:21 +0000

Not really true, Andrew. Prevailing wage laws under Davis-Bacon act pretty much force all states and their financial partners to pay union workers full salaries.

We shoudl call Mangano’s office and tell him to stop taking bribes from Morgan Stanley and do something that’s in the county’s best interest. For Pete’s sake, MORGAN STANLEY IS TAKING CALLS ON MANGANO’S BEHALF!! DOES THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:19:02 +0000

NICK stated that: “They will have a monopoly on a service we can’t do without.

The county currently has a monopoly on a service we can’t do without and they have proven once again that they are incompetent.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:14:28 +0000

Based on current state of the county’s waste treatment facilities, it’s obvious that the county is incapable of effectively running them.

The additional capital required to update and repair the facilities will be offset by not having to pay the salaries and benefits of the unionized workforce that has done NOTHING over the past 30+ years.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:36:53 +0000

Morgan Stanley pretty much has Mangano in its back pocket as its now taking phone calls on Mangano’s behalf.

I tried calling Mangano’s office to get some details on the county selling the water system to Wall Street, and it seems like it’s already a done deal, as one of his assistants simply refers to the call to Morgan Stanley.

Get that – in addition to student loans, mortgages, credit cards, checking account statements and tax money (don’t forget the $700 billion we paid Wall Street firms as a reward for economically raping this country) we’re going to be paying Wall Street to get a glass of water at night.

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:27:23 +0000

There are certain community functions that are really best run by the community, for the community. If you think the program has been run down by government corruption, wait until it is run by the corporation for the corporation. Remember Enron?
Don’t wipe out government, clean it up. Return it as a service and function of the community.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:20:44 +0000

It is definitely much cheaper to keep dumping it on our bays like they currently do…http://www.operationsplash.org/sewage_spills.htm

By: Joe Marcus

Joe Marcus — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:07:59 +0000

When I saw that Long Press had published an article about this issue I was looking forward to reading it and obtaining information from the perspective from both sides but what I got or we got was an editorial disguised as an investigative article or a very poorly investigated, edited or written one. The article states “voluminous, easy to find, documented track record of similar schemes, however, counter [Mangano’s statement that this arrangement/transaction has proven significantly saving for taxpayers as well as run more efficiently] assessment. If there are voluminous examples why did the article not concentrate on these examples as opposed to spending the inked provided space with statements about lack of employees and working conditions.

But it provides quotes from a president of a labor organization, statements that could easily have come from the same individual (conditions, lack of employees), opposing party negative statements and even left leaning professors one who belongs to a pro labor organization. It is one sided for labor and possibly from a questionable purely concerned resident of the area, Mr. Franco. Perhaps I missed it; what does Mr. Franco, his father and his family do for a living ? I have a concern that they are heavily into the Democratic party politics or union employees.

Statements such as “[g]laringly absent” and Morgan Stanley is a “behemoth” Did you ask Mr. Dunne why he did not make this rally ? In your opinion it Morgan Stanley is a behemoth. In my opinion the debt that the county faces is a behemoth. This is the writer’s opinion. What an investigation.

Further, because I needed to investigate this issue myself I looked at NIFA Director George Marlin’s blog and found that he was not criticizing the transaction but was raising legitimate thoughtful questions and concerns. Most importantly he wants the taxpayers to be educated about the pros and cons of the transactions.

You state that Richard Cotugno was “banished” (opinion again) from the plant to “a warehouse in Westbury” You make it sound as if he is McArthur and that he is the only qualified to run the plant and that Mangano was wrong to remove him. Yet when I read your April 2010 article it stated several times, even by Mr. Franco that Mr. Cotugno was unfit and played games in the running of the plant. Is it not better to have him removed if he is unfit to do the job ? Further you state that he “still receives a salary of more than $130,000 compliments of the taxpayers.” I bet Mr. Cotugno has a contract with the county.

By: Joe Marcus

Joe Marcus — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:34:52 +0000

Now if you take Mr. Denenberg’s statement in this context you see that there is a need for government in everything that touches our lives: “But for that one-shot revenue we’re giving up control over a public necessity, [food], a public necessity – I mean everyone needs to [eat], it’s also a [nutritional] necessity. [Food ]is a critical element of our [lives] You need [food] so that you don’t have [starving citizens] When the [supermarkets] are owned by the public they are subject to public scrutiny.” I could go on. Mr. Denenberg why do you not call for the takeover of all food from the farm to the shelf to my cabinets if government is so good and running a sewer

By: robert

robert — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:44:47 +0000

the unions have get away with holding a gun to the head of taxpayers, taxpayers children and elected officials that try to do what’s right. this privatization of the sewage system moves power from the unions (who make allot of money off the taxpayers without a risk to their profits) into the hand of corporations that then would have skin in the game. the only thing that makes sense would be to remove this inefficient, tax wasting system into the hand of people who know what they’re doing and know who to make money at it.

By: robert

robert — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:37:56 +0000

this article is about saving public sector jobs. nassau county is in a cash crunch because we can’t afford to pay the unions what they want. this solutions makes sense and i’ll bet it creates more jobs then loses save taxpayer money in terms of future revenue allocations and diminishes waste and hey if you can pick a billion dollars-DO IT!

By: lenore mller

lenore mller — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:51:10 +0000

since i have lived here over 40yrs maybe this could be an improvement in environment(odors and dumping raw sewage back into the ocean )?By privatizing may be the answer.

By: zapgotcha

zapgotcha — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:40:22 +0000

30 years ago this county was run by employees that were well training and were trained in house often. Under Tom Gulotta that all changed along with the Republican agenda of remove the Middle Class and get rid o union and Government employees that are not PARTY HACKS.
So we hire a company to run our buses that the parent company is FRENCH – They really love Americans! Now you will hire them again through the back door to take of the sewage system. Were is made in American and Hire Americans not in Nassau County. The Republicans have sold the Worker down the drain and given to the 1% at Morgan Stanley and the FRENCH! Were will we be in 5 years, paying a water bill of 200 a month a sewage bill of at least that and still have a tax line on the bill for a sewer district and sending money to the rich for our s—!

By: John Besso

John Besso — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:59:09 +0000

Privatizing is the only way to ever fix it, despite what the Press thinks.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:43:38 +0000

That’s right. A corporation will come here with the goal of NOT helping Nassau residents, BUT to make money off of us. They will have a monopoly on a service we can’t do without….kinda like the oil companies. Are we all THAT dumb? No thanks, Mangano!

By: Ron Z.

Ron Z. — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:19:14 +0000

Well, after the worst County Executive to ever run Nassau gave a contract to Veolia without ever getting a bid from them or the other companies looking to run the buses, who do you think will be awarded this contract? It would be fun to have a contest to see how much in small unmarked bills this clown is receiving for awarding these non-contested contracts.

By: Matty

Matty — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:06:26 +0000

So Mangano is looking to literally flush Nassau County residents down the toilet & privatize everything. Wonder which of the companies he’s selling the county to will be offering him a job as soon as he’s out of office.

By: Who me?

Who me? — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:59:29 +0000

Let’s privatize everything. And while we’re at it, let’s privatize government too. It’s apparent that the elected idiots can’t run anything since they are more interested in being re-elected than doing what is right. then when XYZ corporation decided that it’s going to raise the “flush tax” from $1 to $2 per flush because they need to stay in business, nobody can vote them out!

Great idea, this privatization. It was drafted by an elected official so we KNOW it won’t work in the long run.