Malverne to pay $700G to resolve tax claim

Malverne Village has to pay back more than $700,000 to Long Island American Water after the company successfully disputed an assessment on its properties that resulted in excess taxes being paid over a period of 14 years.

Officials at Wednesday night's village board meeting said they had resolved American Water's tax certiorari claim for more than $1.3 million. The village will refund $722,612 to American Water, which from now on will pay $110,000 a year in village taxes, about $90,000 less than before, officials said.

"We're very fortunate to get the deal that we got," said Mayor Patricia Norris-McDonald, adding the agreement had been signed by a Nassau County Supreme Court judge earlier Wednesday. "We could have just threw in the hat or whatever, but we did what was right."

"This case is still pending . . . so we can't comment on it," American Water president William Varley said Thursday. "The bulk of the money usually goes back to the ratepayers."

Village officials said they conducted a confidential negotiation over 31/2 years, both in and out of court. The village also spent $77,000 hiring experts to dispute the claim, officials said.

Deputy Mayor Joseph Hennessy said the refund to the water company will result in a tax increase next year.