By:Jerry Burke
The value of residential properties soared with the last reassessment, both in absolute dollar amounts and in proportion to the total value of all Nassau County real estate. Commercial properties increased in value, but at a slower rate. Without the cap, the disparity between the huge increase in residential property values and the relatively modest increase in the value of commercial properties would have shifted a much larger piece of the school tax pie onto homeowners' plates.
The only catch for residents was that the bill had to be renewed on a year-by-year basis. Last week, both houses of the state Legislature overwhelmingly approved the renewal measure, sponsored in the Assembly by Tom Alfano (R-21st A.D.), Tom DiNapoli (D-16th A.D.), Bob Barra (R-14th A.D.), Harvey Weisenberg (D-20th A.D.) and David Sidikman (D-13th A.D.), and in the Senate by Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre). The bill has been sent to Gov. George Pataki and will likely be signed into law by the end of the month.
"With school districts preparing for their budget votes, local taxes are weighing heavily on the minds of all Nassau County residents," said Skelos. "On Long Island, the housing market boom has produced an unfair transfer of the tax burden from businesses to local residents. This bill will minimize this effect and protect families from onerous tax increases that do not accurately reflect their true circumstances."
The legislation calls for a 2 percent cap on the tax shift any one of the four classes of real property -- residential (class one), co-ops (class two), utilities (class three) and commercial (class four) -- can incur within a given year. When the reassessment numbers were coming in last spring, it was clear that class one and two properties were going to see a huge increase in tax responsibility overall and hit the pre-existing cap of 5 percent in most districts. "This year, with more of the numbers in place, we can really start to see what kind of benefit residents will see well before the school budgets go to a vote next month," said Alfano.
Because Nassau County's reassessment calls for residential properties in most districts to take much more of the school tax burden, the 2 percent cap will slow down the tax shift, phasing it in gradually over many years instead of a one-shot deal.
The bipartisan effort to continue the cap, said Barra, was a direct result of community support. "Without help from school officials and civics, this bill would not have received the overwhelming support it did [in the Legislature]," he said.
Alfano says that conservative estimates will show a $6 million savings over what homeowners would have had to pay with a 5 percent cap in his district alone in the 2004-05 school year. Without the bill, Alfano says, Elmont residents would have had to pay an additional $2.4 million, while Franklin Square residents would have shouldered $2 million more and West Hempstead residents about $955,000.
"Taxpayers are overburdened, and this is great news not only for our community, but specifically gives seniors and working families desperately needed tax relief," said Elmont School Board President Aubrey Phillips.
Franklin Square Superintendent Dr. Tim Lafferty agreed. "[We] are very appreciative of the efforts of the Legislature in leading the movement to provide a 2 percent cap," said Lafferty. "We're especially grateful to Mr. Alfano for constantly striving to obtain equitable aid for the district."
"We really worked as a team with Mr. DiNapoli and Mr. Weisenberg in finding this solution which helps all taxpayers," said Alfano. "This was a must-win for our communities, and I'm so glad that we made this happen."
Alfano said the bill will prevent an average of another $100 from being tacked on to residents' school tax bills. "I'm pleased that in these difficult times, we got this great cost savings that will soften the blow of reassessment," said West Hempstead Board of Education President Marty Kaye.
