Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss reported last Wednesday night that the village has settled tax appeals totaling $464,950 for $267,700.
During a presentation at village’s regularly scheduled board meeting, Strauss credited the efforts of village attorneys, assessors and the village tax department in resolving tax certiorari appeals at a cost well below the $450,000 for which the village board had budgeted.
“We will start off the next fiscal year being able to reallocate a large part of the $450,000.00 certiorari budget line into other lines such as parks, road repaving or maintaining our infrastructure,” Strauss said.
He said that settling the tax certiorari appeals, most of which were made by businesses, was part of a ongoing effort to decrease that aspect of the village’s fiscal obligations.
Strauss said the village is also continuing a policy established by former Village of Mineola Mayor Jack Martins in paying the cost of the tax certiorari claims in the year they occur.
At the time Martins took office in 2003, the village was paying approximately $1.3 million annually to settle tax certiorari cases, and had accumulated $5 million in bond debt to pay off the tax appeals, Strauss said. He said Martins considered the bonding practice “bad business” and instituted a “pay-as-you-go” policy.
Strauss said a revaluation of village property in 2007 helped reduce tax appeals by assessing property values more accurately.
Strauss said he pledged to continue the policy when he was first elected mayor in 2011.
As a result, he said, he village has reduced annual tax certiorari refunds by 80 percent.
Strauss said the village paid $137,833 owed by the village from appeals earlier in the year from surplus funds.
“Although people will always, and rightfully so, be able to challenge their assessments, we have now permanently stopped the hemorrhaging,” Strauss said.
In a report to the board, Department of Public Works Superintendent Thomas Rini said the village has now completed three of the four phases of its work on the Bruce Terrace flood relief project.
The flood relief project is a three-way effort between the village, the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County.
The village’s $1.7 million portion of the work includes installation of two new drainage manholes, four new catch basins and removal of approximately 300 feet of existing 18-inch-drainage pipe now replaced with a new 30-inch drainage pipe on Bruce Terrace.
The county’s $1.7 million portion of the project includes installation of 1,715 feet of that 48-inch interceptor pipe on Sheridan Boulevard from Raff Avenue, crossing Westbury Avenue and entering the Mineola catch basin.
The town’s $1.1 million part of the project – now complete – included construction of a drainage basin north of the Old Motor Parkway property and installation of new catch basins and drainage pipes on three or four streets adjacent to the Mineola-Carle Place border.
Rini said installation of a 30-inch drainage pipe along Dow Avenue has been completed and the village is awaiting the county’s installation of a pipe on Sheridan Avenue to intercept the Dow Avenue pipe. Once that 48-inch interceptor pipe is installed, he said, work can proceed on the village’s final part, reconstructing a drainage basin at Wilson Park.
Rini said the county’s installation of the pipe on Sherridan Avenue has been delayed by engineering issues.
“There’s a conflict there with the location of that pipe,” Rini said.
He said the county’s contractor needs to amend its plans to install the pipe to avoid interfering with sewer lines in the area.
Rini said he hoped the county’s line would be in place within seven to 10 days.
“This is an unforeseeable situation. Nobody expected this to happen,” Strauss said.
• The village board authorized the hiring of the engineering firm of Dvirka & Bartilucci for installation of an emergency generator at Village Hall. Rini said the generator would cost an estimated $350,000 with engineering services not to exceed $37,000. He said money for the generator would come from community development funds.
• Rini reported work has begun on improvements at the Emory Road playground with installation of bases for swings and a play booster set.
“That’ll be a great boost to that area,” Strauss said.
Strauss said the cost of the project is approximately $80,000 and would be good for kids in the area as well as house values.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
