GOP virtual fundraiser -- bagels galore (Updated twice)

                                                                      

The Nassau Republican Committee held an annual fundraiser today -- virtually because of the pandemic.

Insiders say they were pleased with the event; some 1,200 tickets were sold at $160 each to have breakfast virtually with Nassau GOP Chairman Joseph Cairo and Nassau Legis. Rose Walker (R-Hicksville), Nassau Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), Hempstead Town Clerk Kate Murray, Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin, Oyster Bay Town Councilwoman Laura Maier, and Oyster Bay Town supervisor Joe Saladino. Stepping in and out of the teleconference was Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony D'Esposito.

That's a pretty good haul, given the only visible expenses were a few trays of bagels, muffins and danish.

But they weren't munching alone during the event sponsored by the Nassau County Sheriff's Corrections Officers Benevolent  Association.

Party insiders say boxes of bagels, butter, coffee and cream cheese were delivered to the homes this morning of more than 750 ticket buyers.

The elected officials talked about the coronavirus and the difficulties serving their constituents during the nearly year-long pandemic. They also complained about Nassau County Executive Laura Curran's 2018 reassessment, that just hit school tax bills in November and general tax bills in January.

Curran, a Democrat, is running for re-election this November. Interestingly, none of the potential GOP challengers to Curran participated in the video event.

Maier offered a different negative view of the reassessment. Described as a small business owner of restaurants and Dairy Queens, Maier said her Massapequa home's property taxes increased $10,000.

But taxes on her businesses that are struggling to survive during the government-imposed shutdowns have increased even more, she said. She cited her Dairy Queen in Levittown.

Even though she grieved her assessment every year, she said, "My taxes went up 37 percent, a total $48,000, from $80,000 something  to $131,000.

"There is no phase-in for business," she said. "We basically just got hammered... There was no notice, nothing."

Clavin said, "That's a lot of ice cream."

UPDATE: 

Bellmore attorney Jeff Gold, who runs the 31,000-member "Nassau Grieve Your Tax Assessment - Free" Facebook page, posted Tuesday that Oyster Bay Councilwoman Laura Meier's personal taxes did not go up $10,000 because of the reassessment. He noted that her school taxes for the 20-21 tax year on her Massapequa house are $14,211 while her school taxes in 2017 were $17,253.

"What is with these people?" he wrote. "Don't they realize there are public records."

A look at her home on the county website shows that her total taxes, including general taxes, for this year are $20,788. In 2017, her total taxes were $25,902. Her 19-20 total tax bill -- the last before the new reassessment values were used -- was $21,678.

Awaiting a response from an Oyster Bay Town spokesperson.

2ND UPDATE:

Oyster Bay Spokesman Brian Nevin said in an email,  "The General taxes on her home are $6576.62 in 2021. In 5 years they will be $10,276.01. School taxes 2020-2021 $14,211.53. In 5 years will be $22,205.52.  This all assumes no municipality raises taxes."

Meier also posted a response to Gold on his Facebook page, saying that she did not say her taxes went up $10,000. "What I did say was my taxes will be going up over the next five years with the phase-in."

Actually, according to the video, she did say, "my taxes went up almost $10,000."

The confusion apparently turns on the five-year phase-in for reassessment changes.

In her post, she said, "$32K will be my total tax bill in 5 years and that is if there is no increase in general or school taxes."

But Gold disagreed.

He responded that he ran some numbers after looking at her taxpayer protection letter, which is posted on the county website:  "No you are not going up $32k in five years, you're staying roughly where you are currently $21k...." Gold said.

Meanwhile, Nevin attached a letter to his email indicating that Meier wrote to Curran on Feb. 8  about the Levittown Dairy Queen taxes. The letter, signed by Meier, says that because of the "inaccurate value" placed on her business, the Dairy Queen's taxes had increased by a "whopping 37 percent" to $131,604.

She added that small businesses will have to pay  25 percent to an attorney to challenge their inaccurate assessment while waiting years for a refund because of untimely grievance hearings. "This is incredibly wrong," Meier wrote.