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Business & Tech

Tax Talk at Business/School Council Meeting

Town of Islip Assessor presents at monthly meeting.

The Sayville/West Sayville Business Council and the Sayville School District Board of Education members and administrators held their monthly meeting on June 1 to discuss a hot-button topic from last month’s discussion: taxes.

At last month’s meeting, Mark DeAngelis from the West Sayville Boat Basin specifically pointed to a 20 percent increase in his commercial property taxes over the last two years. “The biggest single problem isn’t about soliciting customers; it’s the taxes. The business owners are held captive. We can’t turn a profit in Sayville because of our taxes,” he said.

To shed some light on that subject was Ron Devine, Town of Islip Assessor, who delivered a presentation to attendees in hopes of clarifying how the town assesses property value, both commercially and residentially. The Town of Islip represents 10 townships consisting of approximately 100,000 parcels of land with a market value of close to $50 billion. It is the fourth-largest township in New York State.

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Devine talked about property tax exemptions, for example the STAR program, the enhanced STAR program for seniors, those with disabilities, and firefighters. Valuation judgements for residential properties are based on the property’s value on March 1. Any improvements in the property will not affect the tax rate until the following year, Devine said. All this is based on New York State real property tax law, not Town of Islip laws.

In Sayville, an approved assessing unit decides how the taxes are divided residential (Homestead) vs. commercial (non-Homestead). This allows the school and the town to shift the tax burden from homestead and the shifts are based on annual market conditions. “It kind of helped to level the playing field; school districts have to opt in to this,” Devine said.

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A look at the tax rate increases in Sayville over the last 10 years show Homestead stands at a 5.85 percent increase, while non-Homestead is at 4.43 percent. At the end of 2011 however, the rate is only about half a percentage point difference.

Dr. Walter Schartner, superintendent, wrapped up the meeting by asking the business owners to register on local online directories (click here to list a business on Patch or claim your business) in an effort to keep business within the community. The district has also drafted a letter of support to show how the businesses and students can work together.

“The Sayville/West Sayville Business and service community continues to support the Sayville Public School students. In return, we should support the Sayville/West Sayville business and service community,” the letter states.  The next meeting will be scheduled for September, and Dr. Schartner said that he would like to see more members of the Sayville Chamber of Commerce in attendance.

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