Village of Russell Gardens trustees voted Thursday to approve tax refunds for 16 village residents who appealed their property value assessments.
While Village of Russell Gardens Mayor Steve Kirschner said the refunds were standard for the village, Trustee Martin Adickman questioned why one Clent Road property owner received a significantly higher refund than others who appealed their assessment.
The property owner of 90 Clent Road received a $1,174.50 refund.
The other 15 tax refunds issued by the village ranged from $30 to $375.
Kirschner said the home on Clent Road was damaged in a fire but was still assessed as if it was not in disrepair.
“The reason for that is because 90 Clent had a fire and we assessed them as if the house was fully habitable, but in fact, half the house was gone and they should have gotten a reduction,” he said. “We settled with them by refunding some of the money they had paid because they really were overtaxed.”
Also at the meeting, Nassau County Police Department Problem Oriented Policing Officer Carlos Rivera appeared to re-establish relations between the POP officers and the community.
“We want to work hand in hand with all the villages and towns and establish that relationship with the precinct,” Rivera said.
He said the role of the POP officers is to assist residents in non-emergency matters that police department patrol officers cannot attend to.
“If it’s a chronic or systemic problem, we look to not only attack it but fix it permanently,” Rivera said.
The police department re-launched the POP program in December after calls from many civic leaders, elected officials and residents for its return.
Before the program was suspended in 2014 as a cost-saving measure, the North Shore’s Third Precinct had four officers assigned to each of its two subdivisions. Each subdivision now has two POP officers.
