The adoption of North Hempstead’s budget was stalled again Tuesday night as Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and her fellow Republican councilmembers opted to adjourn the meeting and not address $5 million in tax cuts proposed by town board Democrats.
“We do not understand why there’s a delay on voting for a tax cut for the residents of North Hempstead,” Democrat Councilmember Robert Troiano said.
The town board delayed a budget vote at its Oct. 29 meeting after Troiano proposed a tax cut that surprised some members.
The proposed $5 million tax cut, which Troiano estimated to be about a 20% reduction, would be made possible by using $6 million of the town’s general fund reserves.
The town originally proposed a $98 million budget for 2025, a 6.6% year-to-year increase, with taxes set to remain the same. Last year, the board approved its 2024 budget with a 10% tax cut.
DeSena told Schneps Media LI that the budget was not discussed or voted on Tuesday night to allow council members to assess Troiano’s tax cut proposal further.
“We need time to look at the numbers,” DeSena said.
When asked if she was considering the tax cut proposal, DeSena said the town “has to look at the numbers.”
DeSena said Troiano’s tax cut proposal was not formally filed until Friday. Troiano said that while he did submit the documents Friday, he has proposed it two weeks prior and the town had ample time to consider it.
“Two weeks to review a simple proposition to cut taxes is more than enough time for the supervisor to consider and take a vote on,” Troiano said.
He added that there was no difference between his verbal proposal at the Oct. 29 meeting and the written amendment he submitted Friday.
But time is ticking for a vote to be made.
The town has until Nov. 20 to adopt a budget under state law. If a budget is not adopted by then, the preliminary budget – which does not include the tax cut – would automatically be adopted.
The town board has one week to schedule a special meeting to adopt a budget before the deadline. No such meeting has been scheduled, and DeSena said she did not know if one would be scheduled.
The council’s meeting agenda listed a resolution to discuss the 2025 budget on Tuesday.
“That’s a very unusual occurrence and it shows to me that the administration is in disarray,” Toriano said.
Multiple residents asked earlier in the meeting if they could comment on the budget but were told they could make their comments when the item was called at the end of the meeting. But the meeting was adjourned before the item could be called for discussion, and no residents spoke on it during this time.
Resident Nina Gordon expressed her support for the tax cut during a public comment period, outside the designated time to comment on the budget. She called the proposal a “no-brainer.” She quoted DeSena’s comments made last year about the size of the town’s reserves, which she said were excessive, when she proposed a 10% tax cut. At the time, DeSena was running for re-election.
“These are promises that you made when running for election and clearly none have been kept,” Gordon said. “…It’s time that we the residents of North Hempstead get some relief.”
Troiano said all the feedback he has received about the proposed tax cut has been positive.
“I can’t imagine any reason why any member of the town council would not want to give a tax cut to its residents,” Troiano said.
