Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today announced that the Assembly has passed legislation he sponsored which would permit Suffolk County to extend the real property tax payment deadline for the residents of the East Hampton this year, protecting residents from any penalties.

A computer system error within the Town of East Hampton's Tax Receiver's Office prevented over 5,000 property tax bills from being sent out with ample time to make the January 10, 2014 payment deadline. Because many residents did not receive their tax bills on time, the Town of East Hampton approached Assemblyman Thiele with the desire to extend the deadline.

As such, the bill, A.8635/S.6495 extends the real property tax payment deadline of January 10, 2014 to January 31, 2014, and waives any interest and penalties which may be due or imposed on or before January 31, 2014.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell noted, "I appreciate the efforts of Assemblyman Fred Thiele passing legislation to extend the penalty deadline in light of issues that occurred in the Town tax receiver’s office in January.”

“I am pleased that Senator LaValle, the Senate sponsor, and I were able to quickly address this issue for the Town of East Hampton,” noted Assemblyman Thiele.

Now that the bill has passed both houses of the Legislature and must now be presented to the Governor for signature. Once the bill becomes law, the Suffolk County Legislature must pass a resolution adopting these provisions within thirty days.