Suffolk Notebook: Sales Tax Revenue Short; Hero Dog Honored

While the amount of sales tax Suffolk County is taking in may be growing, it is still falling short of projections, Suffolk County Executive Bellone learned this week.

Sales tax collected for much of July and August was up 2.6 percent compared to the same period last year, Newsday reported, while year-to-date sales tax growth hit 3.6 percent.

The problem is Bellone budgeted for 3.95 percent growth in 2012, which is cash the county needs to trim its . The county will get its next sales tax payment on Oct. 13, which could give the municipality a boost since it will include taxes collected during the back-to-school shopping period.

Hero Dog Gets County Nod

A Setauket doctor may owe his life to a police dog named Chase after the German Shepard was able to find him .

Now Chase is getting the recognition he deserves.

The Suffolk County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will give Chase the K-9 of the Year award on Saturday after the dog and his handlers spent three days searching for Dr. Jerome Nadler in in Smithtown.

Nadler was found on Thursday after being missing in the park since Labor Day. The doctor spent that time without food and water and endured a spate of thunderstorms that rolled through the region. Authorities said they found him covered in millions of bug bites about 200 feet southeast of the Nissequogue River lying in an area surrounded by brush and thickets. Chase first found a half-ounce bottle of a fly-fisherman's floatant, then found Nadler about 50 feet away.

Chase will get his award at a War Dog Memorial event in Coram, which honors war dogs as well as dogs who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11.

County Plans Health Care Forum

The Suffolk County Human Rights Commission will hold a forum on health care on Sept. 14 at the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge. The county's head of health services, Dr. James Tomarken, will keynote the event, which will be followed by a panel discussion featuring key health care leaders. To register, call 631-853-5480 or email humanrights@suffolkcountyny.gov.