Today, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and Senator James Skoufis stood with various local Rockland County officials to announce the passage of their property tax extension legislation for furloughed federal employees (A.881/S.1675). Local officials at the press conference included: Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips, County Executive Ed Day, Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, Deputy Supervisor Brendel Charles, Clarkstown Town Clerk Justin Sweet, West Haverstraw Mayor Robert D'Amelio, Haverstraw Councilman Papo Cancel, County Clerk Paul Piperato, and Village of Nyack Administrator Jim Politi.

The bill allows local governments to provide furloughed or unpaid federal workers a temporary extension to pay their property taxes. Having recently passed the Assembly and Senate, and the group gathered in support of residents impacted by the government shutdown, urging the Governor to swiftly sign it into law. Local representatives that joined Zebrowski and Skoufis have indicated that their municipality will pass a resolution authorizing the temporary extension to their residents.

“At a critical time when families are worried about putting food on the table and affording everyday basics, this is one less payment to worry about. We are seeing the effects of this shutdown right in our backyard, and this is a small way that New York State and our local municipalities can say to federal employees: we see your struggle and support you. Hopefully, this extension will provide some peace of mind for impacted residents until the shutdown is over,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski.

“While the federal government continues to embarrass itself and do harm to hundreds of thousands of Americans, our bill is an attempt to provide some relief to furloughed employees who are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their bills. Families are already struggling to make ends meet and we need to help alleviate these challenges made worse by the shutdown,” said Senator Skoufis.

As the longest federal government shutdown in history continues, about 16,000 civilian federal employees in New York State are not receiving a paycheck. County, town, and some village property taxes are due on January 31^st. Zebrowski and Skoufis’ legislation ensures that impacted residents will have up to 90 days after the shutdown ends to pay their bill. Municipalities must quickly pass a local resolution authorizing the temporary extension prior to the deadline. Local governments with different tax deadlines and fiscal years can still provide this extension, as it covers any future federal government shutdown. The law will be in effect until June 1, 2020.

The elected officials that stood at the press conference today have pledged to pass a resolution so that their affected residents are afforded the extension. Assemblyman Zebrowski, Senator Skoufis, and local leaders are urging Governor Cuomo to swiftly sign this legislation into law so that impacted federal employees in Rockland and throughout the State are able to take advantage of this prior to the property tax deadline.

As of today, the following local governments are planning to pass a resolution authorizing the extension: Town of Clarkstown, Town of Haverstraw, Town of Orangetown, Town of Ramapo, Village of Nyack, Village of West Haverstraw, and the County of Rockland with a resolution sponsored by County Legislator Alden Wolfe is supported by the Rockland County Legislature with the support of the County Executive.