Curran: Mineola residents to receive refund for sewer tax overcharge mistake under Mangano

Rebecca Klar
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced on Monday that residents of five villages, including Mineola, will receive refunds for overcharges in sewer taxes due to a mistake made by former County Executive Ed Mangano's administration's budget. The process will be a bipartisan effort according to both Republican Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello, left, and Democratic Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, right. (Photo by Rebecca Klar)

Residents in Mineola are among those in five villages across the county who will receive refunds after being overcharged for sewer taxes because of a mistake made in former County Executive Ed Mangano’s administration, County Executive Laura Curran said at a news conference on Monday.

The residents in the villages of Mineola, Freeport, Hempstead, Garden City and Rockville Centre were overcharged as much as 75 percent while other residents were slightly undercharged, Curran said.

Thirty-four thousand residents in the Town of Hempstead alone were affected by the flaw, Curran said.

In total, it’s a $10 million problem, Curran said.

The refunds will be drawn from the sewer fund, which currently has a surplus, Curran said.

When asked by a reporter, Curran said she would have to look into the exact amount of the surplus.

A corrected tax bill will also be sent for the second half of the year for those who only paid in part, and the tax bills will be adjusted for those who were undercharged, Curran said.

The mistake came from a transcription error when budget changes were made during Mangano’s term, Curran said.

“We knew that we were inheriting a mess, but as we move forward to will address any problems as quickly as possible,” Curran said. 

She added that this is a bipartisan problem and it will be solved in a bipartisan way.

Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said that the Republican majority will cooperate with the minority and Curran to remedy the situation.

“It’s an issue we can prevent and will correct,” Nicolello said.

Curran and Nicolello were joined by members of the county Legislature, as well as Town of Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen and Rockville Centre Mayor Francis X. Murray.

Murray said that this is “government at its best.”

Murray added that when the problem was identified on the village level the three legislators for Rockville Centre were contacted. Two weeks later, “here we are standing with a solution,” he said.

Curran said her administration will also issue a letter to Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman’s office to request a review of internal controls by the Office of Management and Budget.

“Taxpayers in Nassau County deserve competence in every way,” Curran said. “And we intend to provide it.”

Share this Article