____________
Massapequa ___________
HERALD pOsT
Also serving Farmingdale, Massapequa, Massapequa Park and Plainedge
Plainedge has Merit Scholarship winner...Page 2 VOL. 73 NO. 41
Chamber honors NC Police Officers Page 3
MHS teacher becomes author Page 10
OCTOBER 9-15, 2024
$1.00
O’Bay budget hearing October 15 No tax-rate hike projected By MIKE POLANSKY Correspondent
Photo Credit/Holden Leeds
Stephanie Diller, wife of the late NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, speaks at fundraiser as officials look on.
High School scholarship fund honors slain NYPD Officer Diller By CHRISTIE LEIGH BABIRAD cbabirad@liherald.com The last time Stephanie Diller visited Mulcahy’s Pub in Wantagh, it was with her husband, NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller. The couple was dancing and celebrating life together. On September 30, the atmosphere at the Pub was bittersweet as elected officials, community leaders, family, friends, and colleagues gathered at the pub to announce a scholarship fund in Diller’s name to benefit students at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, where he graduated in 2010.
Jonathan Diller, of Massapequa Park, lost his life in the line of duty on March 25, 2024, during a traffic stop when he was shot and killed in Far Rockaway, Queens. He is survived by Stephanie, their oneyear-old son, Ryan, and other close family members. “Jonathan is an American hero who sacrificed his life out of bravery and commitment to his job,” said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino. “It’s only right that we come together to protect his family and honor his memory.” Saladino announced that the scholarship CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
The Oyster Bay Town Board approved a preliminary budget calling for a freeze in the town’s real property tax levy for the coming year. The town’s budget will be formally presented at a hearing on October 15. The proposed tax levy (that portion of the town’s budget funded by real property taxes) is $232,987,272 which is $671 less than what is in the 2024 budget. This marks the seventh consecutive year without an increase in the tax levy for town taxpayers, noted town officials. The total 2025 town budget totals $342,846,303, an increase of $3,338,479 over the 2024 amended budget of $339,507,824. Officials estimate no increase in the total realy property assessments, which directly impact on real property tax rates. At the board meeting, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino expressed enthusiasm for the 2025 preliminary budget, voting “aye” on the resolution to adopt it for the hearing. “The tax freeze is once again possible thanks to the spending constraints, efficiencies, and debt reduction initiatives put in place by this Town Board,” he said. “The proposed budget for 2025 continues to pay down debt while enhancing the delivery of quality town services,” Saladino continued.
“The days of deficits are long gone, and this budget contains no gimmicks or oneshot revenues. The proposed budget is fully balanced and does not rely on any borrowing for cash flow purposes.” One area of increase in the proposed budget is Information Technology, with actual expenses in 2023 at $3,413,089, a budget set for 2024 at $4,215,572, and a proposed budget of $5,155,100 for 2025. According to Town Director of Finance Rob Darienzo, “the answer is licenses. “We have more users using more programs along with Microsoft and other companies charging higher prices per user,” he noted. The public hearing on the budget will take place on Tues., Oct. 15, at Town Hall North, 54 Audrey Avenue in Oyster Bay. There will be two sessions, one at 10 a.m. and the second at 7 p.m. In other business at its October 1 meeting, the board: •Voted to extend the town’s Battery Energy Storage System moratorium for an additional six months, an action that was applauded by many Glen Head residents in attendance. •Voted to impose a sixmonth moratorium on shellfish harvesting in the 1,850 acres of underwater lands in Oyster Bay Harbor and Cold Spring Harbor formerly leased to Frank M. Flower and Sons, Inc.