Brookhaven's pork barrel: The wider context

Publication: Newsday's Spin Cycle

Dan Janison
May 16, 2008

In Washington, the campaign season has made earmarks all but a dirty word. On the Albany scene, criminal charges are still pending against state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. involving his member-item spending. At City Hall in Manhattan, oddball budget practices have brought forth the term "slush fund" to apply to money allocated by Council members -- and by Mayor Mike the Maintainer, as reported here.

Against that backdrop, the irregular apportionment of discretionary funds in Brookhaven as reported this week should fit right in. More specifics are here. The latest edge: New board member Keith Romaine is filing resolutions aimed at reforming the practice (for full text of his letter, click the 'continued' bar below).

It seems remarkable that a new round of attention -- certainly warranted -- is paid on so many levels right now to legislative grants, which comprise a small portion of most government budgets.

Dear Editor,

As a new member of the Brookhaven Town Council, I came into office with two primary objectives: making every cent count when it comes to spending, and reforming the way government operates.

Newsday recently highlighted the expenditure of community enhancement grants, often referred to as ‘member items' or ‘pork', by the previous town council. Although every expenditure had been voted on, the legality of such spending is now questionable.

Even if all these monies given away to private organizations had a legal basis, there is no escaping the hard fact that these were public taxpayers' dollars being gifted to private organizations.

Government is breaking the backs of working families on Long Island little by little by having to raise more taxes in order to increase spending to fund budget lines such as this member item pork barrel spending for councilmembers - and also for members of Congress, and state and county legislators.

I will be filing a resolution to eliminate all member item spending, as the only current member of the Brookhaven Town Council to have not spent any taxpayer money on these member item grants to private groups.

Further, I will also file a resolution requesting an audit of all previous taxpayer funded member items to private organizations in the Town of Brookhaven.

Councilman Keith Romaine
6th Council District
Town of Brookhaven