The LIPA lawsuit problem is something that is a looming threat that most students might have about heard once or twice, but may not know much about. The problem, as it stands, is not really comprehensible unless you know the beginning of the story.

The Long Island Lighting Company, which was a lot like LIPA back in the day, made an investment in a nuclear power plant which ended in disaster when it was found that LILCO did not have an adequate evacuation plan for the community in the event of disaster. Because they were in a serious amount of debt and in serious threat of closure, the company’s assets were bought out by the government organization LIPA. Later on, LIPA needed to build a new power station along the North Shore. Northport volunteered to house the plant, in return for LIPA paying some of Northport’s taxes.

Fast forward to today, bad management has led to the LIPA’s debt increasing. In an effort to offset this, this quasi-governmental agency is now suing the town of Northport, in an effort to get it’s rates reduced. They say that they are using the Northport plant a lot less, and that should be taken into account. The town of Northport lost the original case, and it is currently in a state of appeal. In this uncertain climate, our district’s senator decided to hold a public forum at the high school.

As the forum began, in marched the Northport High School Tiger Marching Band, to play the national anthem for the assembled audience before Senator Jim Gaughran (Democrat) took the podium.  After thanking the band for their performance, he informed the history of the issue. He also mentioned that he is allocating funds in case that any city is sued by LIPA. However, he hopes there is never a need for them. He introduced his colleague Andrew Raia, a Republican. They are working closely together on legislation to help protect cities against LIPA’s lawsuits.

After this, Superintendent Banzer took the podium. He began by stating how a loss in the LIPA suit would jeopardize much of the Northport- East Northport’s materials, curriculum, clubs, et cetera. He discussed mediation and discussion efforts, which are as of yet unresolved. John Gross, the school district’s attorney, clarifies that LIPA wants a 90% decrease in their rates. If the suit is lost, taxes for the community could be doubled.

Senator Gaughran then retook the stand to field community comments.

The community comments section went on for some time, so only the most informative and/or interesting ones have been cited here. One of the more interesting comments to arise from the forum was a proposed environmental study about the effects of LIPA’s power station on the citizens of Northport. Many throughout the forum voiced their approval of the idea, and Senator Gaughran did think it merited a closer look.

Also of note was a question asking how legally binding was the agreement between LILCO and the town of Northport way back in the day. Mr. Gross spoke again, saying that the agreement stated that there would be no decrease in LIPA’s rates for 30 years. The school board was only able to pitch in to Northport’s case because the effects of this case would directly affect the school.

Another comment was made by Paul Darrigo. He commented that there should be more synchronization between the school board and the town in terms of this case. He also mentioned the lobbyists paid by LIPA to give Newsday one side of the story. Darrigo also runs the Facebook page CTAL (Concerned Taxpayers against LIPA), which, Darrigo says, is dedicated “to [educating] the citizens of the town of Huntington about all the issues related to LIPA’s tax grievance so they can make informed decisions about how they can exert their influence to fight back”.

After a few more comments the meeting adjourned. Though the problem may not be solved completely, all the citizens left better informed, and some ideas have been presented to Senator Gaughran that will be helpful in solving the LIPA problem.