On Tuesday, September 28, the Suffolk County Legislature will vote on a bill introduced by Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) creating a task force to review Suffolk County’s procedure for confiscating and auctioning delinquent tax properties. Currently, foreclosed properties are auctioned off and all profits are remitted to Suffolk County, resulting in the homeowners’ loss of their equity.

“We need to reform the current law under which homeowners can lose their homes to Suffolk County if they fail to pay their property taxes,” Cooper said today. “Certainly, every possible step should be taken by the county to help delinquent homeowners find a way to pay their back taxes. However, if a property is seized and auctioned off, a way must be found to protect homeowners from losing all of their equity built up over the years.”

The Delinquent Property Tax Task Force would first review the detailed file history relating to those properties included in Suffolk County’s most recent auction, the titles to which were lost for non-payment of taxes that occurred several years ago. They would also be directed to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of all pertinent statutes, court decisions and alternative statutory approaches relating to tax delinquent properties. Finally, the task force would be charged with providing a written report within 60 days to the Legislature outlining their recommended changes to the county’s tax foreclosure, redemption and auction laws.

The task force would be comprised of the following nine members: a designee from the Suffolk County Executive’s office; the Suffolk County Treasurer or his designee; the Presiding Officer of the Suffolk County Legislature or his designee; the Minority Leader of the Suffolk County Legislator or his designee; the Suffolk County Attorney or her designee; the Director of the Suffolk County Division of Real Estate or her designee; a representative of the Suffolk County real estate industry, to be appointed by the Long Island Board of Realtors; and an attorney with experience in the field of real estate law, to be appointed by the Suffolk County Legislature.

Cooper’s bill was approved unanimously today by the Ways and Means Committee with bipartisan support. Co-sponsors currently include Republican Legislators Cameron Alden, Andrew Crecca and Michael Caracciolo, and Democratic Legislators William Lindsay and Brian Foley.