Federal workers on LI may get property tax extension, under new bill

Thousands of Long Island federal employees affected by the 35-day partial government shutdown could soon have additional time to pay their property taxes.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to sign legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport), that provides federal workers statewide who were furloughed or went unpaid during the record-long shutdown and their spouses a 90-day extension to pay their property taxes.

At a news conference Thursday in Huntington, Gaughran said while the shutdown ended Jan. 25, many federal workers are still putting the pieces back together and deciding which outstanding bills to pay first.

"They are trying to figure out what to balance," Gaughran said, urging federal workers to take advantage of the extension. "What not to pay and what to put off. Eventually they will get some retroactive money, but this has really hurt them in the interim . . . . In this way, they know they will have this little cushion."

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