The Town of North Hempstead is reviewing its relationship with town Democratic Party Chairman Gerard Terry after he revealed he owes more than $1 million in back taxes.
Town Councilwoman Dina De Georgio (R-Port Washington) called for an emergency resolution Tuesday night to sever ties with Terry, the attorney for the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals, after he admitted his tax problems in a written statement Jan. 22.
“I feel that in order for the public to continue to trust this board and have confidence in our ability to govern, we need to take swift and decisive action with respect to this matter,” De Georgio said at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting in Manhasset.
Terry’s contract with the town expired Dec. 31 and isn’t set to be renewed, town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said, but the town attorney’s office will review the matter and make any necessary changes.
He had been working without a contract since the start of the year, Bosworth said.
Whatever actions the town takes, Terry said Wednesday, he hopes town officials won’t make his tax problems “a partisan issue.”
In his statement last week, Terry blamed his tax issues on “Type-A workaholic compulsion with self-denial and truly catastrophic health issues.”
“As an attorney and political leader, one would assume I might be the last person to run afoul of failing to cut a tax check on time, but that failure reflects more on personality than profession,” Terry wrote in the statement.
Terry said he is working with the Internal Revenue Service to finalize a structured repayment program to pay the taxes plus penalties and interest, “which has accumulated over more than a decade.”
Newsday first reported the revelation, saying Terry released the statement following the newspaper’s inquiry into tax liens against him.
In a separate statement Wednesday, Terry said the revelation is “related more to my age and stage of life than anything else.”
Terry has worked as an attorney for more than 30 years and has been involved with Democratic politics for 45 years, he said. His statement noted many of his legal clients are in the public sector.
Nassau Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said Terry’s tax issues are “disconcerting,” but said they are a personal matter and shouldn’t impact his leadership position in the party.
In the statement, Terry called himself “a cautionary tale” and said he aims to be “the biggest, most effective canary in the mineshaft” for others dealing with back tax issues.
Joe Nikic contributed reporting.
