With Nassau County under a budget crunch, County Executive Laura Curran has proposed a list of fee increases that would add up to more than $3 million.
This changes to the revised budget would mostly affect motorists and residents using county parks.
The Traffic and Parking Violations Agency fees will rise by 2 percent and generate $1.4 million in new revenue, Newsday reported.
This will come primarily from the $95 fee for red-light camera violations.
Motorists with outstanding moving violations will now have their vehicles booted and towed, a move expected to generate $1 million. Currently, only non-moving violations received that treatment.
A new distracted driver education program would be created and would come with a $100 application fee, which would generate $200,000, Newsday reported.
A $75 fee will be added to traffic tickets for drivers who answer summonses but don’t pay judgments, and those work illegally park on county property will receive a $150 fine, up from $100.
Contractors will see their fines doubled, as the must renew their home improvement licenses, which cost $600, every year instead of every other year.
The park fees are generally smaller with the biggest increases — cabana fees will rise by $200, cabinette fees by $45 — occurring at Nickerson Beach Park on the county’s south shore.
Golfers, though, will see fees for driving-range buckets and cart rentals increase by $1, and rifle ranges will see fees increase from 50 cents to $2.
According to Newsday, the administration scrapped a plan to increase green fees at golf courses.
Any changes to the parking and traffic violations fees would require the support of the county legislature.
“I can tell you right off the bat, we will not be very positive on across-the-board-fee increases,” Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) told Newsday.
Efforts to reach him and Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) were unavailing.
Andrew Persich, Curran’s budget director, told Newsday that the fees became necessary after the county was ordered in February to pay $23 million to two men who had been exonerated on rape and murder charges.
Curran had criticized former County Executive Ed Mangano last October for imposing additional fees to the budget while she was running for office.
But she said during her State of the County address last week that Nassau was in a “fragile” position and that the county would need to back on spending while raising revenues.
