Property taxes

A Route 58 hotel property that has received Riverhead IDA tax exemptions since 2009 has gotten a more than $1.3 million reduction in its property tax assessment after taking the Town of Riverhead to court — and at least seven other IDA properties in the town are poised to follow suit.

This is a good time to reflect on the looming crisis we face as a community where affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage are increasingly scarce.

The Town Board voted 3-2 last night to approve a 2023 operating budget that pierces the tax levy cap and raises the tax rate by more than 4%. Supervisor Yvette Aguiar voted no, citing amendments to her tentative budget proposed by council members — all but one of which she voted to approve at the board’s Nov. 1 meeting. 

More senior and disabled homeowners in Riverhead could receive property tax exemptions in 2024, if the Town Board increases income eligibility limits authorized by a state law passed this year.

In response to a resident's question during a civic association meeting Saturday, Supervisor Yvette Aguiar told a downtown civic group that the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency does not grant property tax abatements. New developments are taxes as construction is completed, she said.

When LIPA-owned properties were switched to tax-exempt as required by state law, the town could no longer issue tax bills to LIPA and instead had to collect payments in lieu of taxes, known as 'PILOTs.' Riverhead is the only Suffolk town that still hasn't collected the LIPA PILOTs, though LIPA has been trying to pay.

Commercial property owners in Riverhead have gotten their tax assessments reduced by tens of millions of dollars through litigation over the past five years. 

The Riverhead Central School District, which last July filed a notice of claim against the town demanding remittance of school tax revenues, has again not received the full property tax remittance due on June 30.

The district is seeking payment of nearly $4.2 million, plus interest, in property tax money the district says is owed to it by the town on the district’s $86.77 million 2019-2020 tax levy.

Suffolk County is asking the governor to approve a 45-day waiver of penalties and interest on second-half property taxes for Suffolk property owners suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis.