I am one of the 402 Jericho victims of the failure of the Town of Oyster Bay receiver of taxes to mail tax-due notices prior to the due date. This resulted in a three percent penalty, an exorbitant figure for residents who paid in December instead of November because they never had any notice.

Mr. Stefanich's letter to you defending his position not to resend notices when notified that there was a problem conveys an abrogation of responsibility and a callousness for the constituents he is supposed to serve. To assume that taxpayers have to find an obscure notice in Newsday (which not everyone reads) or a local newspaper (which usually just gets a quick scan) is an unrealistic method to correct a bad situation. Of course, we owe taxes and are responsible to pay them. But with all the tax notices and bills we receive, it is impractical to expect us to remember when we should receive a tax bill. We depend on the mail which has always been reliable.

For Mr. Stefanich to hide behind a statute to avoid action is a poor response to an inequity. Surely, he can make an adjustment to the innocent taxpayers. Why not credit them back with two-third's of the penalty? That would seem to be a fair action. And if he refuses to do anything, let the taxpayers take action at election time against him and the party for which he stands.

Arthur Gilbert