Letter to Editor of Syosset-Jericho Tribune, The Westbury Times, Hicksville Illustrated News, Farmingdale Observer, Massapequan Observer.

A mail mix-up apparently has prevented delivery of application forms for the Enhanced STAR Exemption of School Taxes to senior citizens in some section of Nassau County.

The exemption can be worth hundreds of dollars and, in many cases, more than a thousand dollars in tax savings annually. In my neighborhood, the average savings are about $1,000.

Seniors with incomes under $60,000 will lose these savings if they do not meet the Dec. 31 application deadline.

And that might happen because of an April 1 letter to homeowners from the Department of Assessment, assuring "Your renewal application will be mailed to you during the first week of September." Many may still be waiting.

Mail was not delivered in some areas, but it is not possible to find out exactly where or how many pieces of mail got lost, since one receives conflicting information from the Department of Assessment.

A counter clerk at its Mineola headquarters told me the problem was confined to Hicksville and some surrounding communities, but couldn't say which ones. An aide to Charles O'Shea, chairman of the Board of Assessors, told me there was a widespread problem only in Massapequa, so that mailing was redone.

One and a half dozen of my Westbury neighbors failed to receive application forms, so we called up for them. When they arrived, they were marked "duplicate." What happened to the originals?

Seniors who were lulled into a sense of security by the April 1 letter, but who are still waiting for their application forms, had better pick up the phone to the Department of Assessment at 571-1500.

And when they do - surprise! - they will discover another problem. Because of poor pronunciation on the phone message giving the financial requirements for the Enhanced STAR Exemption, they may figure they're not eligible when in fact they are.

Specifically, to find out if you are eligible, you deduct your IRA distributions (listed on your Federal income tax form) from the Adjusted Gross Income (on the same tax form). The resulting figure is your income "for STAR purposes." The whole job takes two minutes.

The problem is that the phone message tells callers to use the Adjusted Gross Income less the IRA distributions - so far, so good - but less is pronounced so softly and indistinctly that it sounds like plus. Both words end with an "s," so the chances for confusion are obvious.

The difference between plus and less, of course, can mean the difference between a hefty STAR discount and an empty hand.

I suggested to the Assessment Department that the recording be redone, either by saying less with oomph and clarity, or telling callers to deduct or subtract the IRA number from the Adjusted Gross Income. That was a few weeks ago. The recording is unchanged.

I realize that most seniors do not need hearing aids, but at the same time few have the hearing of jungle cats.

Bernard Bard