Smithtown adopts state tax exemptions for seniors, veterans, spouses of fallen police officers

Smithtown has adopted newly approved state property tax exemptions for senior citizens, military veterans and surviving spouses of fallen police officers.

In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul approved legislation that allows municipalities to provide property tax exemptions to senior citizens who meet income eligibility requirements and other criteria. Hochul’s office said the new exemptions will make New York State more affordable for seniors.

Under the new legislation, unanimously adopted by the five-member Smithtown Town Board during its regular meeting Thursday, seniors living on fixed incomes, fully disabled veterans, active-duty military members who served in combat zones and surviving spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty   can potentially qualify for property tax relief.

Under the exemptions, fully disabled veterans would get a 100% exemption from town property taxes, including special district charges and assessments. To qualify, veterans must have a home that is their primary residence and they must be rated permanently and totally disabled “and deemed individually unemployable by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” according to the Town Hall news release.

The newly-adopted exemptions also create an expanded income eligibility scale that allows seniors who qualify to receive up to a 65% reduction in assessed value for town tax purposes. Those interested in applying must submit proof of income to the Town Assessor’s Office.

The surviving spouses of fallen police officers killed in the line of duty are eligible for a 50% town property tax exemption for their primary residence.

Active-duty military service members stationed in New York who were deployed to a combat zone during the tax year may qualify for property tax relief of up to 25% of the assessed value of a home, capped at $20,000. That exemption would have to be reapplied for annually and would apply only to town taxes.

More than 50 people attended the hearing at Town Hall, which was filed to capacity. Residents, many of them seniors, were mixed in their reception of the exemptions.

Jeannete Walsh, a schoolteacher, said she had respect for military service members, but was concerned how the tax exemptions may affect local taxpayers and nonexempt homeowners.

“I do not oppose helping people in need, but I believe that any significant tax relief should be tied to income so that support is targeted to residents who cannot afford the burden regardless of age or status,” Walsh said.

Gregory Bernhardt, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said he supported the exemptions, noting that while there were likely few veterans in Smithtown that fall under the tax relief requirements currently, that number may increase someday due to the nature of combat and the effects of weapons or chemical agents to which soldiers are exposed.

“It will not affect a lot of people, and some might argue that it isn’t fair, but is it fair that you serve your country and one day you end up with 100% disability and can’t take care of your family?” Bernhardt said.

Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in an interview after the meeting the town passed the exemptions so they could meet the March 1 deadline to apply for the tax relief.

“Most municipalities are going to approve it, and anytime we can get tax relief for folks, of course we’re going to do it,” Wehrheim said.

The Town Assessor’s Office is being tasked with helping residents to understand how the exemptions work and how to apply, Wehrheim said. 

The new state law means Suffolk County, the town and local school districts must independently vote to apply the exemptions to their respective portions of the property tax bill. Wehrheim said he has directed the town's sole assessor, Louis Necroto, to reach out to local school districts to make them aware the town would be passing the exemptions and schools must now vote on them as well.