A week after the Mineola Village Board voted unanimously to grant firefighters who reside in Mineola a 10 percent discount on their village property taxes, the Town of North Hempstead is following the state's lead.

At the December 10 meeting of the Town of North Hemsptead board, Supervisor May Newburger proposed the 10 percent tax exemption for firefighters and emergency service workers of the town portion of a firefighters tax bill.

"It was put up and it would be voted on Jan. 2," said Town of North Hempstead spokesperson Lauren Corcoran.

It looks as though the town board will pass the firefighters tax exemption on Jan. 2. "We're very confident. I foresee a 5-0 vote in favor of it," said Corcoran. "We're probably going to be putting out a letter to all the different fire departments just to let them know this is where we are going. We're excited to do it."

The law would be a copy of the state law, which authorized municipalities to offer the tax exemption to firefighters. The legislature in Nassau County has talked about a 10 percent firefighters tax exemption. Firefighters in the Village of Mineola have until Dec. 31 to file in order to get the exemption for next year. Now, it looks as though North Hempstead firefighters will be getting the exemption.