The Sea Cliff Board of Trustees approved legislation to increase income limits for senior and disabled property owners providing tax exemptions while aligning Sea Cliff with the maximum income limits passed by the state in 2022.
In 2022, New York state raised the maximum income limit for senior citizens to qualify for a partial property tax exemption, allowing municipalities to adopt the new limits on a sliding scale basis. A sliding scale in this case means that people with lower incomes will receive a larger tax exemption.
The legislation, first passed by Nassau County and now applied to the village of Sea Cliff, allows for seniors who make up to $58,400 to qualify for exemption. Residents who make $50,000 or less will be given a 50 percent tax exemption with the sliding scale adjusting down five percent for every thousand dollars more a resident makes. For example if a resident makes $51,000 a year, the tax exemption would go down to 45.
With the legislation passed by the board, Sea Cliff has raised its limitation reductions to the highest income possible.
“So, if you’re a senior citizen of limited income, you can get your assessed valuation on your house reduced on a sliding scale, which obviously impacts your ultimate tax bill and we passed a similar measure in regard to people with disabilities,” Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane said.
“Both of those are in keeping with recent changes by Nassau County last year and are also the highest permissible income limitation reductions in the state of New York.”
This exemption looks to help the low-income seniors throughout the village be able to stay in Sea Cliff. Villafane said the adjustment is both financially responsible and morally imperative.
“Providing this increase in partial property tax exemptions for low-income seniors and people with disabilities is the right thing to do,” Villafane said. “Many of these residents, who have contributed significantly to our society, live on fixed incomes and often struggle with rising property taxes. This relief allows them to continue living in the homes and community they love, without facing undue financial hardship.”
Although the legislation was set to help the low-income seniors of Sea Cliff, there are still some who wonder how much this bill will help seniors in the community. Long time Sea Cliff resident and former deputy mayor Philip Como says that he respects Mayor Villafane and her efforts to bring this legislation to the community but thinks the legislation passed by the state and county doesn’t do enough to support senior residents.
“I have been living in Sea Cliff for 52 years and I would be hard pressed to find someone who lives in Sea Cliff who has to take advantage of this new legislation,” Como said. “I have a lot of respect for Mayor Villafane and what she has done as mayor, but I have gotten to the point where I am trying not to be bitter about the abandonment of seniors in Nassau County and the state.”
While some residents think that lower income seniors need more support for tax exemptions by the county and the state, others believe that the intention behind the bill is reassuring.
Frank Ferrara, a long time Sea Cliff resident, said the motivation behind the passing of the bill is a step in the right direction towards helping seniors be able to stay in Sea Cliff and on Long Island.
“I think that seniors should be valued and given the help that they need at this time,” Ferrara said. “My mom is on a fixed income, and I know that any help at all that she is able to receive is always very important.”
The Village passed the measure in time to provide the tax break before the Dec. 1 billing cycle. Villafane said that the village is very mindful of their seniors and wants to do anything it can to help them continue to live in Sea Cliff.
“We are very mindful of our seniors of limited income, and we always want to make sure that we can do what we can to help keep them in the community,” Villafane said. “Because it can, you know, their vitality adds to the vibrancy of Sea Cliff as a, you know, a real multi-age community.”
