Mamaroneck Schools' Tax Penalty Exemption Request Is Denied

The Mamaroneck Town Board held a special, short-notice meeting at the Weaver Street Firehouse last week to discuss and settle a tax penalty leveled against the Mamaroneck Union Free School District.

The district failed to pay the sewer tax on time, an amount that is due to the town of Mamaroneck. Per State Law, when an entity is unable to pay the sewer tax in a timely fashion, a 2 percent penalty is incurred—in this case, $7,000.

The district asked the town to waive the fee, a request that was voted down unanimously at Thursday's meeting.

"There are no instances of the town waiving penalties," said Town Supervisor Valerie O'Keeffe. "Our policy is to follow the law, so we voted not to excuse the school district. We didn't want to make any exceptions."

School administrators noted the delay in paying the tax was accidental.

"It simply fell through the cracks," said Debbie Manetta, director of public information for Mamaroneck schools. "It's the first time in memorable history [the school district] has been late in a payment."