Rockville Centre wants end to ‘Headquarters Tax’ on residents

        The Village of Rockville Centre is protesting service cuts imposed by the Nassau County Police Department and is seeking the elimination of the so-called county “Headquarters Tax” paid by its residents.

        In a letter to the Nassau County Police Commissioner sent last week, Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray called the new “pay-as-you-go” charges “grossly unfair” on top of the $6.1 million village residents paid to the county last year for police services.

        “If the county is going to reduce our services, then our residents are owed a reduction in their taxes,” Murray said. In his letter,

Murray proposes the elimination of the headquarters tax in favor of a completely “pay-as-you-go” system for all county police services.

        “We do not get $6 million worth of service from Nassau County,” Murray said. “It is outrageous to add additional charges on top of what our residents already pay in taxes, at a time when the county has imposed across-the-board service cuts.”

       The headquarters tax is the largest single item in a typical county tax bill, about 40 percent of the total, the mayor said. “We pay for services we never use, like the marine bureau. We think the headquarters tax should be eliminated and we’ll pay for county police services as we need them,” he added.

       The village, which has its own police force, calls in the county in emergencies — for major crimes and when special services are needed, such as the police helicopter or the K-9 unit.