Hempstead Town pierces the tax cap, OKs 12.1% increase

The Hempstead Town Board approved a 12.1% tax levy increase, enacting the town's largest property tax hike in years.

The board on Tuesday approved piercing the New York State tax cap for the first time since it was implemented in 2011. The tax cap limits municipalities’ annual tax levy increases to 2% or inflation, whichever is less. The cap applies to the overall tax levy, the amount the Hempstead collects from property owners throughout the town. 

Local governments can override the cap with the approval of 60% of the town board.

The approved budget will increase the town’s tax levy from $346.8 million to $389 million in 2025 — a $42.1 million increase. 

The 2025 budget is $549.1 million, a 5% increase over the 2024 budget of $522.5 million.

Clavin cited factors "beyond the town’s control" in his preliminary budget proposal. Officials said the cost of pension contributions and health insurance premiums for employees has risen, as did garbage disposal expenses.

The vote to pierce the cap, and then to approve the budget, was 6-0.

Councilman Christopher Schneider, a Republican running in for election to the town board in November, was absent for the hearings and votes. He faces former Nassau County Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) to fill the balance of the term vacated by Republican Christopher Carini. Carini died unexpectedly in July at age 49.

At the hearing, town comptroller John Mastromarino said the town had done everything it could to avoid tax increases but "we're at a point now where the board has to consider raising taxes past the cap."

"What we were doing is utilizing reserves to protect our taxpayers," Mastromarino said. "To whatever extent we're able to use our reserves, we did." 

He added, "It's now toward a point where ... you just can't do it anymore."

Before the hearings, about two dozen people led a rally against the tax hike at town hall. The group included Democratic candidates for local offices.

During the rally, Abrahams called the tax hike a "sneaky weasel tax." 

"It's reckless. It's irresponsible," Abrahams said. "And Nassau taxpayers can't afford it."

The town use $22 million of reserve funds to balance the budget, Mastromarino said during the hearings.

In April, Moody’s Investors Service, a Wall Street credit rating agency, warned against the frequent use of reserves.

Hempstead could see its Aaa bond rating downgraded if it continued to enact "structurally imbalanced budgets that rely on the use of reserves to support ongoing operations," the agency wrote in a report.

Clavin said the town provides a lot of services relative to the taxes that property owners pay. 

"We think you get a lot for your bang for your buck, your beaches, your roads, your park, your seniors," Clavin said.

His budget letter said the proposal, "maintains Town programs and services while showing the highest degree of respect for the taxpayers ..."

Clavin wrote that the spending plan reflects a "modest positive adjustment to property-based revenues."