You would be hard pressed to find a person with a better background for the job of Town of North Hempstead receiver of taxes than Charles Berman at a time when taxpayers face uncertainty over the countywide reassessment and possible changes from the state in response to the federal cap on the deduction of state and local taxes.
Berman, a Roslyn Democrat, served for five years as an assistant to the Nassau County assessor from 2004 to 2009 and has served as North Hempstead receiver of taxes from 2010 to now.
The knowledge that Berman absorbed during this time, along with the calm demeanor of a mental health counselor, is needed to respond to taxpayers unhappy with their taxes.
Berman may no longer be handling reassessments, but it certainly helps that he understands what is being done and how taxpayers can respond.
He has shared this knowledge with seminars for everyone but wisely focused his efforts on seniors who often are the most hard-pressed to cope with a property tax system not based on someone’s ability to pay.
Berman has also kept up with the times by overhauling the town’s website and allowing for online payments.
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo encouraged taxpayers to pay their taxes early to avoid the federal tax cap on state and local taxes, Berman stayed late and opened the department’s doors on weekends to accommodate the crush of people seeking to take advantage of the service.
Berman is opposed by Ron Rochester, a Port Washington Republican.
Rochester, a former U.S. Treasury Department special agent who now works as a consultant, calls for the expansion of online payment services to include autopay and possible collaboration with villages in an effort to save money.
These seem like ideas worth exploring.
On the negative side, Rochester called the county’s reassessment of all properties “a backdoor tax.”
That is simply not true. Reassessment only changes what is paid by whom. It does not change the total amount collected. A tax receiver should know this and, if he does, certainly should not say this. At this time, taxpayers need the facts – not misinformation.
Blank Slate Media endorses Berman.
