Letter: Suffolk tuition decision a burden
If there is a mistake on an employee's tax withholding statement from a company, there are ways to fix it when filing a tax report. Credit: iStock
I opened my Town of Huntington property tax bill for the first half of 2012 and noticed a new line item: Out-of-County Tuition ["Unhappy surprises on Suffolk tax bill," Letters, Dec. 30]. I called Town Hall to ask about it. The tax clerk told me that this line item pays the difference in tuition for a Suffolk County student who attends a community college in another county. This tax was paid by Suffolk County in the past, but the county now passed the burden to the towns.
I find this unacceptable for several reasons. First, if a student chooses to attend Nassau Community College, for example, and lives in Suffolk County, then the student should pay the full tuition or choose another school. I appreciate that community college tuition may not be the same in all New York counties, but I expect the student to understand the tuition differences when considering a particular school.
Second, I find it deceitful that this was permitted under the law, paid by Suffolk County, and I did not find out about it until the burden shifted to the towns.
No local municipality should be responsible for tuition offsets or differences.
James T. Rooney, Centerport
