Your Tax Bill Explained

How do these Special Taxing Districts affect you and your tax bill? Take a closer look at this actual 2007 tax bill from a house in the unincorporated village of West Hempstead, with an assessed value of $488,400. Please click on the image to the right for a detailed explanation of the special taxing districts that appear on your tax bill.

Special Taxing District amounts appear in the Town portion and the Special Districts section of your tax bill. If you live in an unincorporated village, many of your services are provided through a Commissioner-run Special Taxing District.

Half of the tax revenue generated statewide by the special taxing districts comes from Long Island. In 2004, the average cost to Nassau homeowners was $946, more than half of the Town portion of your tax bill.

RESD anlayzed how Nassau County spends your tax dollars for Nassau County paid police service in comparison with how the Fire Districts spend your tax dollars on volunteer fire services. For the year 2007, the budget amount for the Nassau County Police Dept. Patrol Service is $153 million dollars. The Fire Districts combined budget in Nassau County (who protect the same area as the Nassau County Police Patrol Service) is $116 million dollars for volunteer fire departments. Despite the fact that Fire Districts rely solely on volunteers to fill Commissioner positions, firefighters, and EMTs, it costs only $37 million less than the Nassau County Police who are the highest paid police force in the country. One would expect an all-volunteer fire fighting service to be much less costly than a paid police force. While the volunteers in the Fire Districts provide a critical service in a professional manner, the cost to provide this level of service is what causes taxes to increase.