Little League Field Usage Fee Blocked By Nassau Legislature

Swiftly reacting to a plan put forward by County Executive Laura Curran two weeks ago, the county Legislature voted unanimously on Monday to block the measure, keeping the fee waiver in place for Little Leagues and other groups, according to Newsday.

For years, Nassau County has waived the field usage fee for Little League teams and some other select community groups. But facing a large budget deficit, Curran planned to reverse that policy, which would have gotten the county nearly $1 million in new revenue.

However, the plan was met with swift opposition from Republican and Democrat lawmakers, who felt it was unfair to charge the Little Leagues. Politicians feared that the thousands of dollars in field usage fees would be transferred to participants in the form of higher registration costs, which could price out some low-income families from playing sports.

The bill to stop the fees was proposed by Legislator Steve Rhoads, a Republican from Bellmore. "This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue," he said in a statement when announcing the bill. "This is a Right vs. Wrong issue!"

Even though the Legislature unanimously passed the bill, Curran could still veto it if she chose to.

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