Atlantic Beach residents to see an 87% increase on village taxes next year
Village officials say the increase will only be for the 2025-2026 tax year to make up for almost two decades of improper tax assessments.
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Atlantic Beach Village Board members announced an 87% tax increase on residents during a Wednesday night meeting.
The board met Wednesday to vote on a final version of the budget and the tax warrant for the next year after residents pushed members to delay a vote, originally scheduled for Monday, April 28.
For residents like Mitchell Sahn, news of the tax increase came as a shock.
"87 percent?! I've never heard of that,” he said. "That's unheard of. That amount of a tax increase has never happened."
The new version of the budget saw an over $240,000 cut since the original budget proposed on Monday.
The board voted to adopt the budget and the tax warrant, but the tax increase on residents for next year stays the same.
Village officials say the increase will only be for the 2025-2026 tax year.
In a statement read during the meeting, Mayor George Pappas said the village found out about a potential tax assessment issue months ago.
"Following months of research and consultation, we determined that the procedures implemented when the village ceased being an assessing unit were materially incorrect,” he said.
He placed blame partly on previous administrations for the improper tax assessment.
Joseph Pierantoni, of Atlantic Beach, left the meeting with several questions.
"When was this uncovered? And why wasn't it shared with the village earlier? And had they taken any proactive steps to kind of try to mitigate this damage,” he said.
The New York State Comptroller says the office is not currently auditing the village.
A Nassau County spokesperson tells News 12 the county is looking into the massive increase.
The next board meeting here is on May 12.
