James Stefanich, Oyster Bay Town Receiver of Taxes, was re-elected on Nov. 4 and the following day he was in his office answering his own phone and helping residents come to terms with the new tax bills.

Stefanich has been dealing with the results of the reassessment figures that have been affecting residents. When the new assessment figures were put out, the Nassau County Assessor's Office said the first time residents would see the new figures used was when the school tax bills went out this past October. Since then, residents have been recoiling from the shock. Timing, however, seems to play a part in the misunderstandings.

"People didn't understand what the letters they received from the county with the projections of their tax estimates meant. The figures the county was using were already a year old," Stefanich said. "Since then, you are looking at three school budgets already enacted, so there is a cumulative increase of those three years in the figures. That meant that school budget increases went from 5 to 15 percent throughout the town, so there was a strong basis for a misunderstanding."

Stefanich added that some people returned their tax bills to the town - including copies of the report from Cole-Layer-Trumble, saying they were wrong according to the CT information. "They are looking at school tax increases plus the reassessment issues," he said. "The new assessment came in half of the prior assessed values and the rates were approximately doubled. So, for example, if there were no increase of school budgets between last year and this year still the rates were doubled."

Explaining things can be difficult, Stefanich said. "We are getting instances where people think we set the tax rate. The school taxes are set by the school district. The assessment is set by the Board of Assessors," said the receiver of taxes."

Stefanich said the Town of Oyster Bay's website has a list of answers to frequently asked questions and that the site is being updated. "It will have an update shortly to reflect the newest exemption qualifications for the STAR program, the senior program, veterans and persons with disabilities programs," he said. "The state passes the initial legislation which the county, town and schools have to opt into."

Over the course of the past few weeks, phone calls to the receiver's office have been flooding in. "We get 15 calls a minute. Then they call the supervisor's office and say they can't get through to the tax office," Stefanich said. "Someone said our phones were off the hook; I laughed. The reason was the system was jammed up"

According to Stefanich, the Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes department has an average of 19 persons on staff as well as about five part-time people. Some of the part timers are seasonal and some work half a day or three days a week to fill in as they need staff. In addition, there are three tax locations in the town - one in Oyster Bay, one in Massapequa and the third at the Hicksville parking garage on Duffy Avenue. There is also a police auxiliary office in which two part-timers man during the final week of each quarterly tax collection time.

"We have a staff of five people answering the phones. Others are in the accounting area, running checks through the computer system, and behind the window at the cash counter servicing people as they come in to pay their taxes," Stefanich said. 'They are always a few people out for medical reasons and staff is used to cover the Massapequa Town Hall South. There are two people there so we are spread thin and short a person. We are literally running about with our elbows out and sleeves rolled up. Anyone who says this office isn't busy should come down and see for themselves."

With people still taking advantage of the lower interest rates, Stefanich said, "We are really doing the best we can but we are being deluged and we have this economic environment where everybody is refinancing their homes," he said. "Every time you refinance, a new tax bill is generated and we have seen instances where the same property owner has refinanced three times in the last year."

In the meantime, Stefanich has been going out to schools and libraries throughout the town to educate people on taxes. To do so, he uses a two and a half-hour PowerPoint program called Taxes 101 to explain the tax system. "A lot more people have to be educated about taxes. This effects everybody in their pocketbook. I am very eager to talk to people about this," he said. "When it comes to these issues it is a not a simple answer. We are absolutely willing and eager to speak to the public on these issues so they can make educated decisions. It is worth their effort to spend their time learning about it."

The Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes office phone number is 624-6400. Stefanich said he is always willing to talk to residents and will, by appointment, give them a tour of his department at Town Hall East.