In the Oct. 1 edition of Yorktown News, Supervisor Lachterman announced plans to schedule public hearings on four new tax exemptions ("Honoring service with meaningful tax relief," Page 18).
In fact, the board already set them for Oct. 20 at its Sept. 29 special meeting.
What a great idea: schedule hearings, and a likely vote, two weeks before Election Day on exemptions that benefit special groups of voters.
All four exemptions would reduce a home's assessed value and lower the owner's tax bill. One would erase the entire tax bill: the 100% exemption, which the supervisor didn't mention in his op-ed, is for veterans the VA classifies as 100% "permanently and totally" disabled but still considered employable. The exemption applies to the town tax and all special district taxes, including water, sewer, refuse and advanced life support.
Other than Election Day, what's the rush to hold the hearings and a likely immediate vote?
State officials are still working out how local governments must implement the new law.
No exemption can take effect until the 2027 assessment roll is finalized on June 1 and becomes the basis for setting 2028 tax rates.
Board members have no data on what the financial impact of the exemptions might be on the remaining taxpayers. (One board member, also on the ballot next month, twice voted against changes in sewer operating charges because he lacked enough data.)
Every tax exemption lowers one group's taxes while the remaining taxpayers must make up the lost revenue. It's simple arithmetic: the lower the town’s total taxable assessed value, the higher the tax rate.
Don't get me wrong. I support giving our veterans and first responders a tax break. But as a public official, I owe it to all taxpayers to gather as much information as possible before shifting the tax burden from one group to another.
The hearing date has been set. But that doesn't mean the board has to vote to adopt the exemptions before Election Day.
Susan Siegel is a member of the Yorktown Town Board
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