Barbara LoMoriello understands that families across Long Island are having a difficult time facing the escalating costs of living.  The property taxes are forcing young families off of Long Island and seniors out of their homes and residents finally deserve results.  For too long the politicians in Albany and Washington have been a part of the problem as we see energy prices at levels never seen before, and health care costs skyrocketing far passed affordability.  Barbara wants to make Long Island a place that we are able to afford again.  Seniors should not have to make the painful choice of buying their prescription drugs and paying their exorbitant tax bill and families shouldn’t be faced with the choice of leaving Long Island to raise their families or pay excessive property taxes and skyrocketing living expenses.  Barbara believes there are alternatives and she will go to Albany to fight to make that happen for Long Island families.  Take a look at Barbara’s plan to help Long Island residents:

Taxes:

Long Island residents are being overburdened by taxes.  Barbara LoMoriello understands that families are packing up their belongings and moving out of state because of frustration from the overwhelming tax burden placed on them.  Long Island pays one of the highest property tax levies in the nation and for far too long politicians in Albany have ignored the problem.  Barbara has a plan to make Long Island affordable again that includes:

• Provide tax cuts to seniors for purchases of prescription drugs
• Expand the STAR program to help save homeowners more on property taxes
• Cut taxes for small local business
• Cut taxes for middle class families
• Eliminate the energy tax
• Increase aid to local governments to reduce property tax burden
• Eliminate government wasteful spending and mismanagement to reduce financial burden to taxpayers

Education:

Barbara believes that we should have a quality public education system and will work to ensure the proper funding of schools within her district.  This funding can be achieved by working closely with the leadership of the school districts to assess their needs.  It is not just important to bring more state aid into the school districts but to have a particular purpose for those monies.  Barbara’s plan includes:

• Fight for our fair share of education funding so that our schools can provide students with the best teachers and smaller class sizes
• Securing more monies to have state of the art technology in our schools
• Securing more education funding to reduce property taxes
• Increasing local control of our schools and encourage parental involvement
• Implement higher standards for our schools by giving them the resources the need
• Hold down SUNY tuition and expand the Tuition Assistance Program

Affordable/Workforce Housing:

There is a shortage of housing on Long Island, and because of that shortage Long Island is losing its younger generation as they move because they cannot afford to live here.  We have to make Long Island affordable again so that we do not lose our children and talent to the housing market.  We must provide incentives to encourage workforce housing.  This is an issue that must be addressed by the community as a whole.  Local businesses must be encouraged to provide housing for their employees as they seek to retain the talent pool of resources here.  If we are able to keep our young people here on Long Island we can keep our families together.  Barbara will work with the people in the local community and in Albany to help our bright young talent to be able to live where they grew up.  Barbara supports:

• Provide incentives for first time home buyers
• Offer loan forgiveness for young people to stay on Long Island after college

Affordable health care:

Seniors are facing a crisis with the rising costs of health care.  Living on fixed incomes, seniors have been devastated by the constant escalating costs of quality health care.  There are too many of our families that are not receiving health care or adequate health care because it is not affordable.  Barbara feels that health care is not a luxury but a necessity.  Barbara will work to make health care more affordable by:

• Promoting bulk purchasing of prescription drugs to reduce costs
• Advocating for universal health care so that every child has adequate health care
• Make preventive screenings free

Quality of Life:

As a Long Island community we must have an appreciation for the quality of life that we have grown to love and care about.  We must protect our neighborhoods from drugs, crime and gangs.  Barbara has worked with the Suffolk County Police Commissoner’s Advisory Task Force on Community Issues, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s Gang Task Force, and Suffolk County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.  Through these efforts Barbara has gained a familiarity with the growing problems throughout Long Island .  Barbara would be an active participant in resolving issues by:

• Stiffening laws for gang activity
• Passing laws to restrict sales of guns to criminals
• Restricting the sale of large caliber weapons such as the .50 cal sniper rifle
• Working with County Executive Steve Levy and the Town of Huntington to purchase homes with known gang affiliations

Environment:

The environment is our most precious commodity and we must actively work to preserve it.  We must ensure that our beaches are protected from erosion, our ground water is protected from contamination, our brown fields are revitalized, and our communities are preserved for open space.  We have to respect our environment so that our children and families all have a chance to experience its beauty.  Long Island is becoming more and more developed and in order to retain its wonder we have to aggressively preserve it.  Barbara will work to:

• Secure monies to revitalize brown fields
• Secure monies to preserve open space to prevent overdevelopment
• Sponsor legislation to stop the contamination of our ground water with illegal dumping of drugs