A public hearing on the Village of Great Neck Estates’ proposed 2025-26 budget drew concern Monday night after the document was not made available to the public before or during the meeting, raising questions about transparency and procedure.
The Board of Trustees adopted the budget, which includes a 2.2% increase, following only a brief verbal summary and without distributing copies to residents in attendance.
Village officials said the increase would be applied across the board, with most of the village’s expenses tied to fixed costs such as contracts and services. “Between 70% and 80% of our budget is pretty much fixed cost,” Trustee Ira D. Ganzfried said during the meeting, noting limited flexibility in spending. Mayor William Warner emphasized that 2.2% is “pretty reasonable” given current higher costs in the economy.
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Despite the hearing being listed on the agenda, no residents spoke specifically on the budget, and attendees were not provided with written materials to review before its adoption.
Prior to the meeting, Great Neck News Record requested a copy of the proposed budget from the village clerk’s office and was told it was not available. The request was made again immediately before the meeting began, with the same result. After the meeting, Great Neck News Record again asked for the document and whether it had been made available to the public in advance.
Village Clerk Nicole Giacopelli said a hearing on a tentative budget had been scheduled and that the notice “was posted in the lobby…but nobody showed up,” though no such posting was observed. The document also did not appear on the village’s website.
When asked to clarify, Ganzfried, who currently serves as the village’s budget director, said he “assumed it was posted online” and when told it was not, added, “I don’t check the site.” Asked whether a tentative budget should be made public prior to adoption, he said, “the answer is it should be published.”
The mayor declined to comment.
The situation raised concerns about whether proper procedures were followed in presenting the budget to residents ahead of the vote, particularly as the April 13 public hearing is intended for community input.
As of Tuesday morning, when this story was filed, Long Island Press had still not received a copy of the budget.
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Outside of the budget discussion, the meeting included updates from the village’s Police Department following a recent attempted break-in on Pine Drive. Residents raised concerns about safety and patrol visibility.
Village police Sgt. Noor said the case has been turned over to Nassau County police and remains under investigation. “This is an ongoing investigation… what I can say at this time is that it’s a one-off incident,” the officer said, adding that police do not see a broader pattern of similar crimes in the village.
Noor also assured the public that patrols in the area have increased and that enforcement of overnight parking regulations has been stepped up in response to resident concerns.
With warmer weather approaching, Park Commissioner Nicole Orenstein-Toch outlined plans for the summer season, including expanded programming at the village pool such as live music, children’s swim instruction and pickleball. Orenstein-Toch also proposed adding women-only swim hours, prompting Mayor Warner to suggest exploring men-only hours as well.
The meeting concluded with a request from resident and veteran Dan Straub, 60, who asked the board to update the village’s tax exemption law to include more recent veterans. The current law only applies to those served in ww1 and ww2.Â
Straub, who served more than 41 years on active duty, noted that the current law limits exemptions to veterans of earlier wars. The recently retired navy captain said the change would provide meaningful support to veterans now living on fixed incomes.
“It will give more encouragement for veterans to move into the neighborhood,” he said, noting the benefit is modest—“about 10 to 15%”—but added that “when you’re on a limited budget after retirement, it helps out greatly.”
Board members thanked Straub’s service, acknowledged the concern and said any change would require legislative action.
The April 13 Board of Trustee meeting at Great Neck Estate also addressed an attempted break-in incident on March 29.Miao Li