Board of Ed reconsiders, grants firefighters tax break

In an unexpected turn of events, the West Hempstead Board of Education decided last week to grant partial school-tax exemptions to members of the West Hempstead and Lakeview fire departments.

The decision came at a Jan. 25 special business meeting called by the board specifically to discuss the discount, the request for which was initially made in December by the commissioners of the West Hempstead and Lakeview fire districts. The board voted down the request at its Dec. 21 meeting.

When it did so, board President Pamela Lotito explained that granting the exemption now — when funding is scarce, state aid is unstable, revenues are low, costs are high and budgets are tight — is not feasible. But Lotito told the Herald that she decided to revisit the matter after gathering more information about the potential cost of the exemption for West Hempstead taxpayers.

With one abstention, the board unanimously approved the request.

“We’re ecstatic,” said West Hempstead Fire District Commissioner Ron Magarie. “We feel it will be great for recruitment and retention.”

Providing incentives for people to join the fire departments was the primary reason Magarie and Lakeview Fire District Commissioner Robert Hockenjos brought the matter before the school board. Recruitment has become more difficult, they said, especially during tough economic times, when many people are working at more than one job and volunteerism is not necessarily at the top of their lists of priorities.

“You just can’t train and go to fires,” Hockenjos told the Herald in December. “You’ve got to give something else to keep the camaraderie going.”

The 10 percent discount, he and Magarie asserted, would boost department morale and, in turn, membership. And, they added, it would be a small price to pay. The exemption would apply only to West Hempstead residents who have five or more years of active service in one of the two departments, and it would total 10 percent of the taxable assessed value of a resident’s property. Between the two departments, Hockenjos said, there are about 35 members who are eligible for the tax break.