Fighting STAR wars

Across-the-board decreases will be seen in the Basic STAR (School Tax Relief) and Enhanced STAR tax savings programs, increasing the tax bills of homeowners. Basic STAR is available for owner-occupied primary residences regardless of the owners’ ages or incomes, and exempts the first $30,000 of the value of the home from school taxes. Enhanced STAR is available for the primary residences of seniors with yearly household incomes meeting eligibility requirements, and exempts the first $56,800 of a home’s value from school taxes.
In Oceanside, homeowners who saw a savings of $1,997 in 2007-08 under Enhanced STAR will save $1,801 in 2008-09, a decline of roughly 10 percent. Under Basic STAR, the savings will drop from $948 to $850.
In Island Park, under Enhanced STAR, the savings will fall from $1,474 to $1,372, and under Basic STAR, from $755 to $703 — approximately 7 percent .
Oceanside schools Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown strongly criticized the state for the new STAR calculations, saying that if the districts promised homeowners that their taxes would rise only 2 to 3 percent during the budget process and those taxes jump 3 to 4 percent because of the reductions in STAR, it could make the districts look bad.
“This will lead people to believe that the school district is responsible,” Brown said. “It looks like someone is putting one over on them. It’s not good for ongoing [community] relationships. They will say, ‘Why should we trust you next year?’”
This is the first year the STAR program has seen cuts, Brown said. “And with the shape the economy is in, it’s bad timing,” he added. “People are looking for their taxes to be as low as possible.”
The superintendent also criticized the state for keeping the reductions quiet until now, right before tax bills are mailed out to homeowners. “That’s not the way we do business in our school district,” Brown said.
Island Park Superintendent Dr. Edward Price said the main purpose of STAR was to help the elderly who are on fixed incomes, and young couples just starting out. “Obviously, some people will be hurt by this in our community,” Price said. “And, of course, people will call up and be upset at us.”
Price said that instead of STAR, he favored a proposal that would cap property tax based on a homeowner’s income. “STAR is not the answer,” he said. “To me, [the cap] would make more sense than STAR.”
Harvey Levinson, chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors, also blasted the program’s cuts. Levinson has waged a two-year battle with state officials to increase STAR for Long Island homeowners. “While state officials might consider the range of school property tax increases to be insignificant, to homeowners who struggle each day to make ends meet to pay higher gasoline or food prices, it is an unnecessary and untimely tax burden,” said Levinson.
“When you consider the nearly $10 million that was wasted by the state [in the past two years] in postage and the additional costs of administering a separate STAR property tax rebate check program, you have to shake your head and ask why the money wasn’t applied directly to the existing Basic and Enhanced STAR credit,” Levinson added. “Not only did the state officials saddle homeowners with an additional tax burden because the rebate check had to be reported on federal income tax returns, but many homeowners did not use the check for the purpose it was intended: helping to reduce their school property tax burden.”
Levinson said that the most startling aspect of the state’s new STAR formula is that it will hit those on the low end of the assessment scale harder than those with million-dollar homes. “It’s time to put an end to the state Legislature’s wasteful and self-aggrandizing STAR property tax rebate check program and put the money back to where it belongs — as a direct credit to reduce a homeowner’s school property taxes,” he said.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com