Hempstead Town pierces 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 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 more than $42 million increase. 

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

Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. cited factors "beyond the town’s control" in his 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 a town board election 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 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 he said, "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 used $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 adopts "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 property owners pay. 

"We think you get a lot for your bang for your buck ... your beaches, your roads, your parks ... " 

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

The spending plan reflects a "modest positive adjustment to property-based revenues," Clavin wrote in the letter.

While Clavin has touted a "tax freeze" since he took office, tax levies did rise slightly — by less than 1% — in 2021, 2023 and 2024, according to town records. Property tax levies fell by 0.29% in 2022, town records show.

Several residents complained Hempstead had sent out dozens of mailings but none about the tax levy hike.

Lynn Krug, 73, a retired corporate budget administrator from Garden City, also criticized the town board.

"Instead of prudently raising taxes by the inflation rate each year, this board freezes taxes and that's why we're caught up in this mess." Krug said.