By Scott Brinton
That's when his new set of property-tax bills for the fiscal year 2003-04 will arrive.
By his calculations, Zitay, 55, figures he'll pay "way over $10,000 a year" in property taxes. That, he said, is a big bill, particularly because he's supporting five children.
His oldest will graduate from the University of Richmond in Virginia this spring. His second child attends Providence College in Rhode Island. He also has one child at Calhoun High School, one at Merrick Avenue Middle School and one at Chatterton Elementary School.
Zitay was among roughly 25 people who turned out last Thursday for a community meeting, titled, "The School Funding Crisis and State-Mandated Expenses," which Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg (D-Merrick) hosted at Kennedy High School in Bellmore.
Zitay said that, next year, he'll be "quadruple whacked" on his property tax bill. First there's Nassau County's recent reassessment. The assessment on his home is apparently rising, which will increase his taxes overall.
Then there are school taxes, which officials of the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School and Merrick Elementary districts have said will probably increase. Next there's the Nassau County tax, which also will jump. Finally, there's the Merrick Library tax, which will rise in the coming years owing to a $10 million bond for a new library, which passed last year.
Zitay had nothing but praise for the Merrick Elementary and Bellmore-Merrick High School districts. "My children have gotten a great education," he said in an interview.
During the meeting, though, Zitay questioned the education officials in attendance, seeking some idea of what his school tax bill might look like in 2003-04. The officials said they haven't got enough information at this point to say. The state hasn't given them definite school-aid figures, and Nassau's recent reassessment makes determining a tax rate difficult.
Nassau County Tax Assessor Charles O'Shea (R-North Merrick) said during an interview that the tax rolls were set as of April 1. So any local taxing bodies should now have the information they need to set tentative tax rates, which would be subject to change as budgets are further developed.
A clearer understanding of local property taxes should emerge during the coming weeks.
In the meantime, Zitay wonders how he'll make ends meet next year. "I'm going to have to force myself to work more hours," he said. "There are other people in Merrick who are going to be in my position. It's [a question of] how many balls can you juggle?"
Many said privately that school officials face a "public-relations nightmare." The concern is that people would vote against school budgets in May out of fear that they would not be able to afford their property taxes.
There are, however, only limited measures that school districts can take to curb their budgets, education officials said. In a year when they find most of their required costs -- such as employees' retirement, health care and Social Security, as well as electricity and heating -- on the rise, they're also seeing the state provide far fewer aid dollars to help offset increased spending.
With a state budget deficit that is estimated in the billions of dollars looming in the wake of Sept. 11, the state simply doesn't have the money to provide more school aid, according to Gov. George Pataki.
Exacerbating the problem for the schools is a rapidly growing student population, which often forces districts to enlarge their facilities.
On top of all this are tougher federal and state testing requirements. If students fail to pass recently upgraded exams at both the elementary and high school levels, they must receive remedial help, before or after school, according to the federal government's "No Child Left Behind" legislation. Remedial programs require money to pay teachers' salaries.
The combination of higher costs and less state aid is what will drive property taxes higher for Bellmore-Merrick residents, officials said.
Dr. Thomas Caramore, the Bellmore-Merrick Central District superintendent, Sheldon Dumain, the Bellmore Elementary District superintendent, and Richard Daddio, Bellmore's assistant superintendent for business, ran through the range of costs that Long Island School districts will be hit with during the coming year. They also ticked off myriad challenges that districts will face in meeting those added expenses.
Above all else, they said, the dramatic drop in state aid for education, which Pataki proposed recently in the state budget, would wreak financial havoc among the schools if the cut goes through as planned.
The Bellmore-Merrick Central District is staring at the largest aid reduction in Nassau County -- $4 million. The district's overall operating budget is now $82 million a year, and is projected to rise 7 percent, to $88 million, in 2003-04.
All three officials said they expect local state legislators will fight hard to restore at least part of the cuts to area districts, but they don't hold much hope for a complete restoration.
State aid dollars, they noted, are monies that people have paid to New York on their state income tax bills, which are then sent to the schools. When the state cuts education aid, it forces homeowners to pay more in local property taxes to support the schools. The aid, officials said, helps districts reduce their overall budgets, which allows them to lower property taxes or spend more to educate children.
Denenberg said, "The state budget cuts will come back and hurt each of us in terms of property taxes."
The legislator noted that the county was able to lower its budget by reducing "waste" in Nassau's workforce over the past three years. When looking at local school districts to see whether they could reduce expenses, Denenberg said, "I couldn't find the waste."
He estimated that many Bellmore-Merrick homeowners will see their overall property-tax bills (of which school taxes comprise more than 60 percent, county taxes account for 19 percent and the rest are town and special districts such as fire) increase $1,000 or more in the coming year. Some said privately that figure could go as high as $2,000 to $3,000. By contrast, Zitay said his property taxes have traditionally risen $200 to $300 a year.
Dumain said district officials are working to keep their budgets -- and taxes -- as low as possible. "We know people have a limit to what they can pay," he said.
The superintendent also said that, no matter what, "The one thing we did say [in the Bellmore district] is we're going to maintain our programs for the kids because they need them."
Daddio said, "I've had many sleepless nights trying to get this budget to work."
