Legislator drafts law to refund Valley Stream taxpayers

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County Legislator William Gaylor III (R-Lynbrook) shared a draft of legislation with state lawmakers last week that would require school districts to return any excess tax revenue levied for the 2016-17 school year to Nassau County, and, by proxy, the taxpayers.

“Any school district in Nassau County that has received funds in excess of its 2016-2017 school year budget, may designate such surplus funds, or any part thereof, for refunding to the taxpayers of that school district,” the drafted legislation states. “The school district shall remit such designated funds to Nassau County, which shall hold such funds solely for the purpose of refunding.”

Gaylor sent a draft of the legislation to State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) and Assemblyman Brian Curran (R-Lynbrook).

The move is part of an ongoing effort by local lawmakers to attempt to address a property-tax surge in October that many have attributed to tax incentives issued to the Green Acres Mall by the Hempstead Town Industrial Development Agency in 2015 — and to prevent similar results in the future. The tax breaks reduced the mall’s tax payments by about $6.5 million last year and by a similar amount each year until 2022 as part of a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, or PILOT. Tax bills in school districts 13, 24 and 30 increased, on average, between $322 and $758 in October, drawing fury from unsuspecting residents.

A report commissioned by the IDA last year blamed the tax increases on school district 30, claiming it underestimated the PILOT revenue it would receive and thereby levied too much from local taxpayers. School officials have claimed the IDA never sent them the necessary details of the new payment schedule. The state comptroller is currently auditing both the IDA and District 30.

“We are in the business of educating kids, not large retail malls that have benefited in tax breaks off the backs of our residents,” said Christopher Dillon, the assistant superintendent for business for District 30.

Dillon said the district has not yet received the full year’s PILOT payment from the IDA, and so there’s nothing for them to refund. Any excess money the district would receive, he said, would go toward lowering next year’s tax levy. School officials recommended in January that the county, instead, keep any excess PILOT funds and return it to the taxpayers — only giving the school district exactly what it budgeted for.

“The district supports any legislation that will meet our budgetary timeline, addresses tax cap regulations the district must follow and requires the IDA to be more transparent with the actual dollar amount the district is to receive prior to residents voting on a budget,” Dillon said.

In a statement, Kaminsky said he was reviewing Gaylor’s proposed legislation and would discuss it further with the school districts and other relevant parties. Curran was pleased that Gaylor was seeking to return money to taxpayers, but wished a version of the Nassau County guarantee — which holds the county liable for all property tax refunds from false assessments — could be expanded to include PILOT payments. Solages said she wants to work to quantify “the actual amount of money owed.”

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