Efficiency plan will provide tax rebate to eligible homeowners

The Long Beach School District plans to submit a government efficiency plan by the June 1 deadline so that homeowners can receive a tax rebate check under the New York State property tax freeze plan. 

This will be the second year that the district meets the state criteria for resident school tax rebate checks. The rebate checks will be issued in the additional amount of school property tax for 2015-16 attributable to the district’s requested increase in the tax levy. The district will still collect the additional funds from taxpayers, but the state will refund the difference from the current year’s tax bill directly to the homeowners. 

The school district’s government efficiency plan follows the guidelines established in Governor Cuomo’s 2014 Property Tax Freeze Credit legislation and shows that the district has achieved approximately $2 million in administrative and operational efficiencies since the introduction of the property tax levy cap four years ago. The $2 million in savings is $1 million more than the required amount of 1 percent of the current year tax levy under the governor’s program. 

 Over the past several years, the district has engaged in cost-saving measures such as departmental reorganization and streamlined operations. “The recent changes to district operations have led to large cumulative cost savings,” said Chief Operating Officer Michael DeVito. “Entire departments have worked hard to perform their responsibilities with fewer resources. Our continual review of current operations to see if we can save money has outpaced the expectations of the governor. I am proud of our efforts. We will continue to look for efficiencies within our operations as well as opportunities to collaborate with other districts and municipal entities.”

To be eligible for the tax credit, a household must meet the eligibility for a STAR exemption, meaning the property must be the homeowner’s primary residence, and the total household income cannot exceed $500,000. Homeowners do not have to do anything additional to be eligible for the credit. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance will review eligibility data and calculate the credit.