Nassau tax assessor finds lower income areas pay more for public libraries

A report by the Nassau County tax assessor says residents in Roosevelt and Lakeview pay 15 times as much in library taxes as neighboring districts. Tax Assessor Harvey Levinson says that residents in

News 12 Staff

Jan 25, 2006, 11:40 PM

Updated 6,888 days ago

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A report by the Nassau County tax assessor says residents in Roosevelt and Lakeview pay 15 times as much in library taxes as neighboring districts.
Tax Assessor Harvey Levinson says that residents in Roosevelt pay $630 each year for their public libraries, while homeowners in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Library District pay only $43 a year. Levinson says the reason for the disparity is due to the amount of commercial property in each community. He says this means residents of poorer communities have to contribute more for the libraries.
Levinson is suggesting consolidating library districts to employ a "share the wealth" system. Levinson is pushing for all library board trustees to establish a countywide commission to work with lawmakers and create a better system.