Hooper: 'Prepare for the pain'

State Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper set the tone early at a recent town meeting by warning residents of the tough times ahead.

“I want to prepare you for the pain that’s coming,” said Hooper, the Assembly’s deputy speaker. “When we complete the budget this year, you’re going to consider 2010 the good old days.”

Hooper, a Democrat and a Hempstead native who represents the 18th Assembly District  — encompassing parts of Baldwin, East Meadow, Lakeview, Merrick and West Hempstead — made an appearance at the East Meadow Public Library on Jan. 13.

She discussed a number of issues facing the new administration in Albany with residents who came from across Nassau County. Hooper insisted that the meeting was for them and not her, and that she was simply there to listen and answer their questions and concerns.

“It’s really a very dismal picture in Albany right now because the fact of the matter is, we truly really don’t have the money,” she said. “The $9.5 billion deficit that Albany currently faces needs to be addressed before March 31.” If not, Hooper explained, the debt will increase to between $10 billion and $14 billion. She also said that legislators have not begun discussing the budget yet with new Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

One of the biggest issues that Hooper discussed was the property tax cap that Cuomo is attempting to implement. The measure would limit property tax increases in school and fire districts.

If such a law is implemented, she said, school districts could be in a bind. Hooper noted that since districts do not receive fair share of aid from the state, a cap on taxes could leave administrators with difficult decisions to make. “So where are they going to get the money to provide education except to raise taxes?” she asked. “I am very concerned.”

A property tax cap could result in cuts in education and health care, she said.