Town of Oyster Bay paying $3.7 million to settle Verizon lawsuit

The town of Oyster Bay plans to borrow $3.7 million from Nassau County to pay the cost of a settlement with Verizon New York, Inc.

Oyster Bay Comptroller Robert McEvoy said the town would repay the debt as soon as it is paid by the county.

The town board last week passed a resolution to borrow the funds by selling short-term bond anticipation notes that could later be refinanced as bonds. The bond resolution gives the town five years to repay the debt that would be used to pay money owed for three garbage districts.

Oyster Bay has until Dec. 31 to pay Verizon. The payment stems from a 1990s lawsuit by Verizon's predecessor, the New York Telephone Co., against North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay towns.

The company successfully argued that it shouldn't pay taxes to garbage districts on properties that don't produce garbage. The towns in turn successfully sued Nassau County to pay for the refunds to the phone company. The state Court of Appeals in September refused to hear an appeal by the county.