Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor - Jan. 21, 2010

Thanks for hometown support

To the Editor:

I write to express my thanks to the residents of Rockville Centre for their overwhelming support of my campaign for the Nassau County Legislature last year. While we fell short of victory by less than 400 votes, I was honored to receive 60 percent of the vote in my home village. I am grateful for, and humbled by, the support of so many friends and neighbors.

This year will bring a new set of critical elections and significant challenges for leaders at all levels of government. I look forward to working on behalf of candidates who share my passion for reducing our heavy tax burden, controlling spending and reforming the way government does business. I will remain an active participant in the life of this great community, and I hope to be of service to Rockville Centre in the years to come.

Again, on behalf of the extended Browne and Schaefer families, thank you for your support and Happy New Year.

Christian Browne

Rockville Centre

No village will be eliminated

To the Editor:

I am amazed that the Herald continues to publish letters ("Don't trust consolidation," Jan. 14-20) based on fear-mongering political lies. I know of no effort here on Long Island to eliminate any villages —- only to add a new one.

The new Consolidation Act, which goes into effect March 22, is a statewide bill and is the reason why villages were included in the language. Long Island is just a small part of the state, and in other regions of New York there is a desperate need to consolidate villages and towns. The problem of service duplication is severe in some upstate regions, with triplication a problem in one particular area where a village, the town in which it lies and the inclusive county all provide the same services to their taxpayers.

The law that currently governs consolidation is far too complicated. The new act simply makes it easier to ask residents what it is they all truly want. For the record, no village or any other taxing district can be consolidated without the express permission of its residents. Let me say that again: The voters who live in any village, town or any other taxing district are the only people who get to decide their fate. If you have been told that outsiders (i.e. nonresidents) can vote to eliminate your village (or any part of it), you have been misled. It is simply not true.

Jeff Goldstein

East Meadow

Mangano can't freeze taxes

To the Editor:

The story "Mangano to the rescue?" (Jan. 14-20) is extremely misleading when it states, "... Mangano's plan to freeze the 2010 tax rolls and make them the basis for grievances during the cycle that is chosen." Property owners are desperate for tax relief, but Mangano is not able to freeze their taxes.

No Nassau County officials involved in the assessment process are able to freeze the tax rolls. With proper New York state authority, they can only freeze assessment rolls. The assessment is the assessed value, which is a percentage based on market value. The percentage for residential property is presently one quarter of one percent of the market value. Stating it another way, Mangano can not freeze school budgets and any other taxing authority including county items listed on our General Tax Bill. You greatly mislead the public into thinking that Mangano can freeze their non-village taxes at a set number. Let me demonstrate why it is impossible to freeze actual taxes. When property assessments were based on construction costs, my school taxes increased 55 percent, from $3,297 in 1996-97) to $5,108 (in 2002-03), yet my assessed value remained $6,140.

I'm writing because I believe more Nassau residents read your papers than Newsday. Newsday has also incorrectly used the term tax assessment instead of property assessment. Ironically, as endorsers of Tom Suozzi, the Heralds and Newsday hurt his re-election chances because he was blamed for the increase in taxes because of the assessment system.

The reassessment mandated by the courts allows for more fairness in our assessed values. So many of my neighbors made additions to their homes (dormers, recreation rooms, extensions, central air conditioning, bathrooms, etc.) that were not in county records. When the county's vendor inspected the properties, these add-ons were assessed. So those of us who added to their homes with permits were now fairly compared with similar properties in our area.

What the county should correct is the process of commercial refunds -- that is what is broken and costing our residents big time. Residential refunds are minimal. This process also would be corrected much faster if the taxing agencies, such as the school districts, had to refund the money, as is done throughout New York state. Then it would be truly visible to the property owners.

I suggest if you really want correct information, you reference material on the county assessor's Web site.

Joan Dombrowski

Lynbrook