Nassau County: Not Flush With Cash

Nassau County, NY has instituted a new fee that non-profits fear will wipe them out. CBS:

Schools in Nassau County have joined together to try and flush away a new fee they say will literally drain their budgets.

Every flush in every school could soon cost taxpayers, thanks to a new sewer use fee. However, school districts are fighting back against what they’ve dubbed a “toilet tax,” reports CBS 2’s Carolyn Gusoff.

The fee is one cent per gallon. Budget shortfalls have caused this creative attempt at ensuring the budget will be flush with cash.

The one penny-per gallon fee translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars for bigger school districts. For East Williston, it would amount to $87,000 this year alone.

“For us, it’s a large amount of money. It’s like a teacher salary,” East Williston Assistant Superintendent for Business Jackie Fitzpatrick said.

All puns aside, it really is a sad state of affairs when this kind of action seems like a good idea to generate sufficient cash to keep a county going.