Don Clavin blames Laura Curran for sewer tax mistakes
A screenshot of the notice Clavin sent on the county's sewer tax mistake on Tuesday. Credit: Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes
Republican Hempstead Town Tax Receiver Don Clavin made a point this week of blaming Nassau County — now run by Democratic County Executive Laura Curran — for a mistake in some 36,000 sewer bills.
Clavin included a notice, announcing in eye-catching blue and red: “Oops...Nassau County Goofed! Attached is a corrected tax bill” when he sent the second half general tax bills to property owners in the villages of Rockville Centre, Hempstead, Freeport and Garden City.
Clavin also sent a letter explaining the county’s error in overcharging the village residents hundreds of dollars in taxes for sewer disposal.
“This overcharge was the result of Nassau County providing the town with a defective tax roll, the basis upon which tax bills are issued,” Clavin wrote. “As soon as my office uncovered Nassau’s error, we immediately contacted the county and insisted that they correct the mistake.”
But Nassau spokesman Michael Martino said Clavin didn’t find the error.
“It was a problem created by the prior administration that was discovered by the villages,” Martino said. “County Executive Curran took immediate corrective action.”
Curran in February announced that the previous Republican administration of Edward Mangano mistakenly had charged homeowners in the four Hempstead Town villages and the Village of Mineola in North Hempstead for a sewer tax increase that was supposed to be shared by all county property owners. The mistake hiked sewer fees in the five villages by about 75 percent.
Curran said overcharged property owners will receive a refund and asked the county comptroller to identify ways to prevent the error from occurring again. No explanation has been given to date for the mistake.
Officials said refunds will not go out until the entire general tax levy is collected by Aug. 31. Clavin’s letter directed residents to call the county treasurer’s office to check on their refund and, helpfully, printed the county treasurer’s phone number.
Martino suggested that Clavin’s mailing was campaign-oriented.
Clavin responded, “I’m not running for office this year. It was their error. I have to clean up their mess.”
