To the Editor:
Just a friendly reminder that the 2nd half of your school taxes are due Monday, January 31st. The town of Greenburgh acts as a tax collector for the school district. One can pay on line by clicking onto the following link: https://www.greenburghny.com/190/Tax-Department. No fees are charged for on line payments. There is a fee charged if you pay by credit card. If you reside in a town other than Greenburgh – check with your Receiver of Taxes to find out how you can pay your taxes on line and on time. Same penalties, same deadlines for all towns in westchester.
Every February I receive calls from residents who forgot to pay their taxxes and are assessed a large penalty (10%) for delayed payments. I personally believe that the penalties are excessive– they are not set by the town. And, a majority of the Board members believe that under NYS law penalties can’t be waived for any reason. I’ve written to the State Comptroller’s office, hoping that the state would provide the town with the discretion to waive some penalties if there are legitimate hardships. In the past there have been hard luck stories: people who forgot to pay because a family member was dying of cancer, hospitalizations, etc… Taxpayers have been assessed a 10% penalty even if one day late. I think the Board should have discretion to reduce penalties.
In the meantime – we’re doing everything we can to remind taxpayers to pay on time. We have placed lawn sign reminders around town (see attached). At the bottom of each e mail sent by town employees to residents there is a reminder . The Receiver of Taxes is sending out reminder notices to taxpayers who didn’t pay by mid January.
Please pay on time. We don’t want your penalty dollars. Just on time tax payments.
Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
