The Village ofMineolawill spend between a few hundred thousand dollars on tax grievances, instead of the millions some other municipalities pay, according to Mayor Paul Pereira.
Pereira said during the Wednesday, June 10 board of trustees meeting that the village anticipates tax “certs,” or when people grieve their property taxes, and said he has seen a major decline in the amount over the nearly two decades he has served on the board. He said in the past, tax certs were in excess of $1 million. Now, the village sets aside about $100,000 to $200,000 each year for them.
He said one of the contributing factors has been the enactment of a new system that better assesses village properties.
“We don’t have a lot of disparities, and we don’t have a lot of grievances from the commercial properties, because we’re on target,” Pereira said.
The grievances came from two properties, whereas Pereira said he has seen dozens in the past.
Along with addressing the tax grievances, the board also approveda request for J & S Catering to operate its food truck between Monday and Friday, an annual delight for the village, Pereira said.
The board also approved Boy Scout Troop 45’s use of the community pool for water safety training. The troop will use the time to fill merit badge requirements.
The board also authorized the purchase of 165 water meters and 40 wall radios for $94,635, which Pereira said need to be regularly replaced to stay up-to-date with technology and repairs.
“They are very expensive,” Pereira said. “We try to do it on a pretty regular basis, a few times a year, to then not have to buy so many of them all at once.”
The village has more than 6,000 water services, between residential and commercial buildings. The new meters would be purchased primarily for their commercial service connections. Several years ago, the village conducted an audit of village meters and found a number that were not working properly to the detriment of the village, Pereira said.
Source: LI Press
