The scope of today's property tax crisis cannot be understated. A family's financial resources in Nassau and Suffolk counties and throughout the state are slowly being squeezed to the point where many can no longer afford to live in their communities. Municipal, school and special district operating budgets are now the focus of close public scrutiny.

What is often overlooked by many well-meaning politicians is that any time you grant a homeowner or business a property tax break, someone else has to pay the bill. If you grant a property tax exemption to a special group of individuals - no matter how deserving - the bottom line is that their neighbors will see increases in their property tax obligation to make up for the reduced tax revenue. The same can be said of special Industrial Development Agency (IDA) deals.

While the underlying goal of an IDA is to offer tax incentives to promote business development in a town or county, sometimes you have to look at individual development projects and question what is going on. Did the Covanta garbage recycling plant located in the Town of Hempstead - valued at over $225 million dollars - deserve a special IDA agreement whereby the billion dollar company would not pay property taxes or any PILOT (payment in-lieu of taxes) payment for 50 years? Covanta operates a similar plant in the Town of Babylon and is required to make PILOT payments. Why is the Town of Hempstead IDA so insistent that the buyer of one of the most prestigious and valuable pieces of property in the Village of Garden City - the Garden City Hotel - be granted a multi-million dollar property tax break, as well as being exempt from paying one million dollars in sales tax and $777,000 in mortgage recording fees?

Encouraging new business development in aging and underutilized downtown areas is a worthy cause. However, when struggling "mom and pop" stores are forced to pay higher property taxes because of a special tax break that is being given to a multi-million dollar developer, it is imperative that every business and taxing jurisdiction be given ample time to examine the details and impact of the IDA decision.

Publishing an obscure legal notice in a newspaper to announce a public hearing on an IDA initiative may comply with the spirit of the law, but common decency would demand a more aggressive and transparent approach. There is clearly more transparency in applying for a fence permit, than there is in advertising multi-million dollar tax breaks for businesses. Not only do many municipalities require that a sign advertising the hearing be placed on a homeowner's property, but notification letters are mailed to neighboring properties.

In the spirit of cooperation, I hope that all IDAs will go the extra mile and communicate more aggressively with school districts, local chambers of commerce, civic groups and local elected officials when business development plans or agreements that will impact the tax base in a community are proposed. Conversely, school districts, the most affected by IDA agreements, must become more involved in the process. Too often, IDA letters are filed away. Fortunately, in the case of Garden City, because of the publicity generated in the media in recent weeks, the school district's superintendent and attorney attended the Town of Hempstead's IDA meeting held on May 28 leading to the plan being tabled for further discussion.

I call on all IDAs to follow the Hempstead example and delay the signing of any new agreements until all the players are brought to the table.

Harvey B. Levinson

Chairman

Nassau County Board of Assessors