New tax line sought for Levy tuition plan

The head of the Suffolk Legislature's budget committee has filed a bill to authorize towns to create a new line on property tax bills to highlight County Executive Steve Levy's plan to transfer $11 million in out-of-county tuition costs to the towns.

Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) filed the resolution last week in response to requests from Suffolk's 10 town supervisors. They are upset that Levy's proposed $2.7 billion budget would transfer the costs to towns.

"I'm not sure we'll be able to undo it, but this puts a mechanism in place to illustrate that this is a Levy levy being shifted down to taxpayers," Gregory said.

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko praised Gregory's proposal. "Steve Levy's tax will cost the 10 towns over $11 million," Lesko said. "It is important that this unfunded mandate is a separate line on the bill so residents know exactly how much it is costing them."

Levy says his proposal, which needs approval of the county legislature, would more fairly spread the educational costs to the towns that send the most students to out-of-county schools.

Dan Aug, Levy's spokesman, said the county executive supports Gregory's bill, "because the breakout will help accentuate how under the old system some towns were paying disproportionately higher fees while subsidizing others."

The issue has arisen primarily because of tuition charges at Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. While considered a community college, FIT has bachelor's and master's programs and charges the counties for the extra years. Suffolk Legis. Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) has filed legislation to prohibit the county comptroller from paying FIT for more than two years of a student's education.