Some good news from Albany.The town just received notice from the NY State Office of Real Property Services, a state agency.  Last year, after the town started tracking the STAR benefits, we noticed serious declines  I expressed concern at meetings with school officials that school taxes were increasing at a high rate as a result of the decline in the STAR benefits. In this years budget the NY State Legislature has increased STAR benefits for senior citizens by about 13.6% for the 2006-2007 school year. The increase was within the unvetoed portion of the budget.

Most seniors who receive the enhanced STAR benefits will enjoy about $300 a year in additional school tax savings.

One of the reasons why some school districts had a difficult time with their school budgets in the past few years has been because the enhanced STAR benefits had been declining. The percentage of the school tax rate increase for seniors who benefited from STAR was more than the average homeowner was paying.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this successful lobbying initiative to help our seniors.

PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor