County Considers Tax Break for Surviving Police Spouses

By Holly Crocco

Putnam County is poised to approve a tax exemption for surviving spouses of police officers who are killed in the line of duty.

During its July 14 meeting, the county’s Rules Committee unanimously approved a 50 percent tax reduction on the assessed property value of the qualifying primary residence for a homeowner in Putnam County whose spouse has been killed in the line of duty as a police officer. The exemption is provided under Real Property Tax Law Section 471, in accordance with state-enabling legislation.

The resolution will go before the full Legislature for a vote next week.

“When a police officer makes the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, their family carries that burden forever,” said Legislator Jake D’Angelo, R-Carmel, who brought the resolution forward. “It won’t erase their loss and it won’t make them whole, but it’s a tangible way for Putnam County to stand with those families and recognize the sacrifice that was made on behalf of all of us… If we’re serious about backing the blue, then we should be serious about backing the families they leave behind.”

Legislator Amy Sayegh, R-Mahopac Falls, said it will be hard to predict what the fiscal impact will be for the county until the application process begins for surviving spouses, because the county doesn’t have all the records of police officers who may have been married out of state.

“There’s no way to track this,” she said. “So it would be an application process” through the assessor’s office.

Still, Sayegh said it’s a worthy investment.

“I think it’s a small gesture for the ultimate sacrifice for our public safety and well-being,” she said, noting that the exemption would be retroactive, and could pertain to officers who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “It has to be in the line of duty – 9/11 attacks were in the line of duty… Surviving spouses of people who perished in those terrible attacks could apply for an exemption on their property tax and be granted.”

Legislator Nancy Montgomery, D-Philipstown, expressed support for the resolution, but noted that the state needs to come up with more ways to support veterans, first-responders, and other service members without shifting the burden to other taxpayers.

“I really support being able to keep these people in our community,” she said. “That’s really important to me, and the higher our taxes are the less likely they are to stay here in Putnam County. So this is a great step toward that. I (would) just like to have more information so I can tell the people who have to pay more.”

Legislator Tommy Regan, R-Brewster, noted that the county has to adhere to the law the way that it has been written by the state – including the definition of “killed in the line of duty.” For example, if someone dies tomorrow from a 9/11-related illness, their spouse may not be eligible for the tax exemption.

“Albany has given us permission to give the tax exemption to a completely deserving, small quantity of people,” he said. “There is zero fiscal impact on Albany with the proposal Albany has sent us… I couldn’t miss the opportunity to state the obvious, that Albany – which gave us permission to provide this exemption – will not provide relieve as part of this initiative.”

It was also acknowledged that the exemption will have more impact on those who qualify for it if the towns and school districts also pass resolutions.

Legislator Bill Gouldman, R-Putnam Valley, said that whatever the county can to do help law enforcement families is a worthy cause.

“It’s a bad world out there and sometimes a police officer has to make the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “We have to do something to keep that wife, husband, children in the house that they currently live in, and this could help.”

Further, he said the measure helps to encourage people to continue pursuing service jobs.

“The state is allowing the county, schools, and towns to pass this, and I would like to see my town, Putnam Valley, and the school district support something like this,” said Gouldman. “The reality is we’re only talking about the county taxes, which is a very small percentage of the total tax bill. School and town taxes are a lot more and would help a family in need to stay here in Putnam County.”