‘Is Greenwood Lake a cash cow for Tuxedo?'

To the editor: Education for thought on the upcoming vote on Dec. 12 for Greenwood Lake taxpayers and anybody else interested. This course is called Taxpayer 101. The question for today is whether or not Greenwood Lake is a cash cow for Tuxedo. Let’s begin. Take a property either in Tuxedo or Tuxedo Park. School tax is at the same rate in either one. It is $60.52 per thousand of assessed value. House #1 in Tuxedo Park is valued at $105,910 for tax purposes but real value exceeds $800,000. School tax is $6,409.85. That is not a typo error. Same property in Greenwood Lake at rate of $147.40 per thousand equals $15,611 tax bill - not counting the $5 per thousand library add on. Let’s get closer to home. A typical Greenwood Lake house might be taxed on a basis of say $34,910. Remember both school tax rates. Greenwood Lake School tax bill would be about $5,140. The same house in Tuxedo at their school tax rate is $2,112.81. Okay, class. Homework! Now plug the value of your home into the equation for Greenwood Lake vs. Tuxedo and then tell me whether you think we are a cash cow for Tuxedo or are we a cash herd? All this property information is available on the Orange County Government Web site. It is public information. If you pay school or local taxes in Orange County you are in there. Everything about your house and property is available for anyone to see. The Tuxedo information is based on two actual properties - not my imagination. No “Myth versus Reality” propaganda here from Tuxedo created by a public relations firm at $250 per hour. Only real, verifiable facts here. You be the judge. John Finn Greenwood Lake taxpayer