Letter to the Editor: The Truth About 2021 Yorktown Town Taxes
In a press release issued the day after the Yorktown Town Board adopted the town’s 2021 budget, Supervisor Slater told us that, “We held the line on taxes.” He repeated his “hold the line” message in a Letter from Matt Slater in the latest newsletter distributed to 1,000 Jefferson Village households.
But what exactly does “hold the line” mean? Does it mean our 2021 town taxes will be going up, down or staying the same as our 2020 tax bill?
In November, Supervisor Slater told us that the 2021 budget included tax cuts that would save the typical homeowner with a house assessed at $10,000 and on town water $13.03 or $11.44 for those on wells.
But at the December budget hearings, speakers pointed out that the projected 2021 tax decrease was based on using the wrong tax rates for 2020; when the correct tax rates were used, the combined town taxes (excluding sewer and fire district taxes) for the typical house assessed at $10,000 actually increased $3.36 for those with water and $3.76 for those on wells.
When neither the town comptroller or Supervisor Slater disputed their numbers, the speakers urged the Town Board to amend the 2021 budget to show the correct 2020 taxes.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the 2021 budget on the town website still shows the wrong 2020 tax rates.
And the town’s December budget message is conspicuously silent when it comes to talking hard numbers. Instead of the November message that touted a tax decrease, the message is now “hold the line,” a nebulous phrase that implies no change in the tax impact – and which hides the fact that for many taxpayers there will be a 2021 tax increase.
Is it asking too much to expect honesty and transparency from our elected officials?
Susan Siegel
Yorktown Heights
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