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| | | Tax Receiver Lou Marcoccia. Courtesy Brookhaven Town (click for larger version) | |
May 13, 2009 | 04:29 PM
The tax man is coming to a location near you.
Brookhaven Receiver of Taxes Lou Marcoccia thinks paying your property taxes is bad enough without having to trek to Town Hall in Farmingville and make the long walk from the parking lot to his office on the first floor, especially if you are a senior citizen.
"Many seniors like to pay in person," said Marcoccia, "and take their receipt home with them." In order to make that process easier, and as a pilot program to see if the call for expanding such local service in the future is justified, a tax receiver mobile office will be set up at the Rose Caracappa Center on Route 25A in Mount Sinai from 10 am to 6 pm on Tuesday, May 26. Residents should bring with them their current tax bill and payment stub and a check or money order. Cash will not be accepted.
Marcoccia has been busy changing many things since his election to a four-year term in 2007. "For the first time," he said, "the office is using a bulk rate stamp." The tax receiver said replacing first class stamps on mailings sent out up to three times a year saves "$5,000 to $10,000 each." Marcoccia has also focused on "clean[ing] up the database" in order to reduce the number of mail returns due to incorrect or obsolete addresses, costing staff time and additional postage.
The next step, he said, is to "create a database of all exemptions." Marcoccia explained that some property tax exemptions must be renewed annually, "Seniors sometimes call me crying," he said. "They missed the deadline." Marcoccia plans to use the new database to mail reminders to those who have exemptions requiring renewal.
Marcoccia expressed concern on the subject of the economic downturn. He said late property tax payments are increasing. "We sent out 14,000 delinquent payment notices this January," he said, a sharp rise over 2008.
Marcoccia had lots to say about Brookhaven politics. First, he responded to a rumor that he might seek the Republican nomination to oppose Supervisor Mark Lesko in November. "Leadership wants me to run," he said, but, "I will not screen [before the nominating committee] and I won't accept the nomination" if it were offered. However he was not shy in offering advice to his party that has suffered losses in recent elections.
"The Republican Party needs to shed its anchor," he said, "and go with new people." Marcoccia said the Brookhaven GOP needs to reach beyond the party regulars. "New faces win races," he said, noting that Democrat Lesko was himself unknown at the beginning of 2009.
The town GOP's only townwide elected official has not always got along with his own party. Marcoccia said he has twice run primaries against the party's choice and taken the party to court more than once. A former information technology consultant for large corporations, Marcoccia would not commit this early to seeking re-election in 2011 to his current office. Of course, he did not rule it out either.
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