The Huntington Town Board held its recent meeting remotely and broadcast meeting audio and video live, establishing the automatic renewal of the Senior/Disability Low Income Exemptions for 2021 and applying for $25 billion in grant funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The Town Board established procedures allowing the automatic renewal of the Senior/Disability Low Income Exemptions who received these real property tax exemptions in 2020; those who received the exemption in 2020 will receive the same exemption in 2021 automatically without an application, as long as their eligibility for these exemptions is maintained.
“We are thankful the State heard our pleas to allow the Town to create this automatic renewal process for the Senior/Disability Low Income Exemptions in 2021, eliminating the burdensome, in-person renewal process for our most vulnerable residents,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci.
In early December 2020, Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci joined with his fellow Suffolk County Supervisor colleagues in urging Governor Cuomo to intervene on behalf of municipalities across the State to assist those most in need allowing for the creation of an automatic renewal process for Senior/Disability Low Income Exemptions for 2021. The New York State COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020, enacted on December 28, 2020, provided for the renewal of such exemptions.
If the applicant believes their income has changed, making them eligible for a greater benefit, they can request a new application from the Assessor, which will not be required to be filed in person. Applicants may call the Assessor’s Office at (631) 351-3226 or email [email protected] to request a new application, which can also be downloaded on the Town website at huntingtonny.gov/tax-exemptions.
The Assessor may require a renewal application to be filed if she has reason to believe that an owner who qualified in 2020 may have since changed his or her primary residence, added another owner to the deed, transferred the property to a new owner, or died.
The Town Board also authorized the Supervisor to apply for and receive grant funding from the recently announced Emergency Rental Assistance Program from the United States Department of the Treasury; the Town of Huntington is eligible, as a government with a population over 200,000, to apply for $25 billion in available grant funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assist those who are unable to pay their rent or utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
