HoehmTown Happenings: Auxiliary Police Granted Tax Relief Exemption

I am delighted to announce that the Clarkstown Town Board will soon be adopting a local law granting a partial real property tax reduction for our Police Auxiliary volunteers. As of January 2026, new state legislation went into effect which enables local municipalities the ability to “opt in” and offer a tax exemption of up to 10% on the assessed value of the primary residence of our auxiliary volunteers. The benefit is capped at a maximum assessment reduction of $3000 multiplied by the current equalization rate.  I am thrilled to have this benefit extended to our auxiliary police volunteers, which is something the Town had been lobbying for in a similar 2024 amendment covering volunteer EMS and firefighters. Clarkstown will offer the maximum exemption allowed under the state legislation to the auxiliary police officers, just as it had done previously for the firefighters and EMS volunteers. 

Our Auxiliary Officers provide an invaluable service to our residents by assisting in matters such as routine traffic and crowd control which would otherwise need to be covered by an on-duty officer. Combined, our Auxiliary Officers typically log in over 8,000 hours of volunteer service each year, helping keep our community safe and saving taxpayers significant money by reducing police overtime. 

Under the provisions of our new local law, the primary residential real property owned by an enrolled member of the volunteer auxiliary police shall be eligible for an exemption provided the following criteria are met:

A. The applicant resides in the Town or Village in which they serve as an auxiliary volunteer.

B. The property is the primary residence of the applicant.

C. The property is used exclusively for residential purposes; provided, however, that in the event that any portion of such property is not used exclusively for the applicant’s residence, but is used for other purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and the remaining portion only shall be entitled to the exemption provided by this article.

D. The applicant has been certified by the law enforcement agency in which such volunteer auxiliary police officer serves as an active member as determined by the local law enforcement agency’s standards for at least five years. 

Eligible volunteers must submit an application to the Town Assessor’s office in order to receive the benefit. The deadline to apply for a reduction on the 2027 tax bill is March 1, 2026. 

I am grateful to the members of the Town Council for their commitment to passing this local law offering tax relief to these wonderful volunteers, who give so much to our community.  Hopefully this incentive will be a useful tool in recruiting new volunteers, who are greatly needed in the auxiliary at this time. If you or anyone you know are interested in serving, please contact the Clarkstown Police Department at 845-639-5800.