West Irondequoit holds public hearing on applying veterans' property tax exemption to school taxes

The West Irondequoit Central School District Board of Education held a public hearing on applying New York State's veterans' real property tax exemption to school taxes. Assistant Superintendent for Finance James Brennan presented the law and local estimates; dozens of residents, many of them veterans, spoke during a public-comment period that lasted roughly two hours.

The hearing addressed the base exemption (a deduction from assessed value, not a direct dollar discount on a tax bill) and the local fiscal effect. Brennan said the base exemption would remove $12,000 from the assessed value of qualifying primary residences and emphasized, “it doesn't change the district's ability to collect taxes. That's what we call our tax levy.” He and district materials cited town assessor data showing roughly 845 properties with at least one veterans' exemption on file; applying the exemption to school taxes was estimated to…