On Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m., Village of East Hills Mayor Michael R. Koblenz will host the first “Meeting of the Mayors” to discuss and analyze the means to share services, gain costs savings, and comply with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tax rebate program for residents living in New York State.
The meeting will be held at village hall, 209 Harbor Hill Rd. Call 621-5600.
In order for residents to be sent rebate checks, communities who save 1 percent per year for 3 years, and stay below the tax cap. The combined income for a residence must also be below $500,000 in order for rebates to be issued.
Mark Pattison, director of Local Government Services in the Department of State will speak at the meeting, along with Senator Jack Martins and Assemblyman Chuck Lavine. The principal way most communities will be able to realize the savings is through jointly sharing services. The available shared services will also be reviewed by Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth or Peter Zuckerman, town councilman.
Besides state and town leaders, the mayors of Roslyn Estates, Flower Hills and Roslyn Harbor have accepted.
“East Hills is hosting the forum and taking the lead on this meeting to ensure that the mayors have an opportunity to discuss and analyze all the available methods and means to realize cost savings through sharing services,” Koblenz said. “If we are successful, residents may be entitled to tax rebates. While it is true that the village taxes in our community only amount to about 15 percent of their entire bill, and while it is also true that the rebates for the village tax portion of the overall rebate will be small, in the area of an average of $30, we hope to help set an example, and that our county, town and school districts will also follow suit. The size of the combined rebates could then be much larger for residents, perhaps a couple hundred of dollars or even more.”
