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Community Corner

Smithtown, please stop the MegaShelters

All concerned residents please attend the Human Services Committee Meeting. They will be voting whether to terminate or keep the contract for the Mega Shelter.

 

Monday, December 9th at 10:00am

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At the William H. Rogers Legislature Building

 

725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Smithtown, New York 11787

Find out what's happening in Smithtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

 

 

You are urged to attend this meeting to help our community stop the county from breaking their own laws. These laws are in place to protect us.

If you cannot attend this meeting it is imperative that you show your support by sending an email to all the following committee members immediately prior to Monday’s meeting or email info@suffolkunited.com

 


DuWayne.Gregory@suffolkcountyny.gov


Flanagan@nysenate.gov


 

Your email must include your name and address.

 

This information can be used to show your support to terminate this contract:

 

"I hereby support Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy, Jr.'s "Introductory Resolution 1817," as Suffolk County has failed to conform with Section 438 of the Suffolk County Administrative Code.

The County's actions have caused a potential significant impact upon the School Districts."

 

As a resident of Suffolk County I am very concerned with this administration making poor decisions and repeatedly breaking their own county laws.

As a voter I will not accept this type of behavior from my elected officials.

 

 

 

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Facts about this contract and the impacts it will have on our community

if we don’t take a stand!

Ø  We are NOT trying to throw the homeless back on the streets; these families will be relocated into small homes or smaller shelters throughout Suffolk County. If we have shelters spread throughout Suffolk County where there are 71 different school districts no district will be overburdened. These homeless families would then have kitchens to cook and not be forced to use food vouchers at places like 7-11 as well as the privacy they deserve to live in different neighborhoods without the “homeless” label.

 

Ø  Suffolk County law states 12 families max per shelter, no more than 48 families in a 2 mile radius. These are illegal shelters which have not been approved by the state. And beware that our area has many more hotels that can be used for transient housing!

 

Ø  We have tried to FOIL the details for this contract and have been denied information on how much state aid we are receiving for the in-state students. We receive no aid for out-of-state students.

 

Ø  The Safety Net Program protects out-of-state families when their funds run out or when an individual fails a drug test and is taken off the system in their own state. Many of these homeless families are from out-of-state because they no longer qualified for support from their state’s welfare system.

 

Ø  No one ever complained about the small shelters we already had in our area or the students that had been enrolled in our schools over the past years. We cannot allow Suffolk County to violate their own laws and overburden our communities. According to NY State there are MANY districts in Suffolk County that currently have NO HOMELESS!

 

Ø  Overcrowded shelters are a potential means of spreading disease, illnesses, lice, & bed bugs and these children attend our schools.

 

A financial impact example: A standard student costs the district about $14,600 per year to educate. Any student requiring any special services cost about $56,000. These numbers are not made up and can be found on the district report to the state. So far Hauppauge and Smithtown school districts have not received ANY state aid for in-state students and will NOT receive any state aid for out-of-state students.

Considering 30 as a conservative number and 20 of the students need additional services that will cost the district $146,000 for students without additional services and $1,120,000 for additional services.

Hauppauge only receives about 18% of budget aid for their own resident students from the state compared to other districts that receive over 80%. Your taxes dollars will pay for the additional expenditures resulting from the large shelters. New York State has the tax cap which limits us to 2% or consumer price index  which will be about 1.5%, whichever is higher.  School electives, enrichment programs, and many other services may be cut to cover these new costs. Many people saved for years to buy a house in our area especially because of the excellent schools, they should not have to lose programs and services because…

65% of Suffolk County homeless families have already been placed in western Suffolk MEGA shelters all within a 2 mile radius.

It is very fair to say that is a great disproportion!

 

 

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