Media Contact: Randolph Yunker - (516) 571-2490

(Mineola, NY) Despite increased Internet use each year, our public libraries still serve as the cultural hubs of our communities and important research centers for our children's academic studies. Yet, according to Nassau County Board of Assessors Chairman Harvey Levinson, the 52 public libraries that impose millions of dollars in tax levies on homeowners and businesses each year are facing a crisis balancing budget resources and community needs with a limited property tax base.

After completing an exhaustive review of nearly 400 separate taxing authorities that exist in the three towns throughout Nassau County, Assessor Levinson revealed that library property tax rates imposed on homeowners in 2005-2006 vary from $2.46 per hundred dollars of assessed value in the Gold Coast library district in Oyster Bay to $36.02 in Roosevelt. More astonishing was the fact that homeowners in the Roosevelt and Lakeview public library districts are paying more to take out a book than they pay for police protection!

"Is it fair that a home valued at $350,000 in Roosevelt is paying $630 in library property taxes while that same valued home in Elmont is paying only $137," stated Assessor Harvey Levinson. "While library tax levies are as high as $7.5 million dollars in Great Neck and as low as $13,423 in North Malverne, we have reached a crisis where homeowners are demanding that their elected officials work together to find innovative ways to help reduce the property tax burden without destroying the very institutions that have helped make Nassau County one of the most desirable areas in the country to live."

Recognizing that the amount of commercial property in a community affects the share of property tax that a homeowner is obligated to pay to the library district, Assessor Levinson has proposed that a percentage of the commercial property tax base be shared by districts within each of the three towns. The sharing of the commercial tax base will help lower a homeowner's portion of the property tax burden in residential communities like Roosevelt, Lakeview, Hewlett-Woodmere, Freeport, and North Merrick.

"In addition to finding new ways to fund libraries and other special taxing districts, these multi-million dollar operations should be subjected to frequent and intense scrutiny by appropriate government agencies at the state and local levels to ensure that taxpayer money is being well-spent," Assessor Levinson stated. "Given the fact that the resources of each library district can be shared by all residents within the Nassau Library System, any capital improvement project must be viewed globally to avoid unnecessary duplication of services and expenditures."

Assessor Levinson urged all library board of trustees to establish a countywide commission to work with representatives from the New York State Comptroller's Office, Department of Education, Legislature, and towns to create a system that will be a model for all counties throughout the country.

LIBRARY DISTRICTS
2006 TAXES PAID BY A HOME WITH A $350,000 MARKET VALUE
( .pdf file)