CURRAN, RESIDENTS CALL ON LEGISLATIVE MAJORITY TO SUPPORT ASSESSMENT REFORM
Years of Inaction by County Officials has led to Millions in Tax Inequity and big profits for tax firms
BALDWIN, NY--Nassau County Executive Laura Curran today stood with Nassau County Assessor David Moog, Legislator Debra Mule and property owners, including Julie Buske of Baldwin, Chandra Ortiz of Baldwin, Allen Foley of Hicksville, Matt Meng of East Norwich, Karen Higgins of Massapequa Park, Erin Guida of Hicksville, Garris Williams of Baldwin, and Jeff Gold of Bellmore, and called on the Republican Majority to join her in reforming the property assessment system and to stop protecting tax firms that have made millions because of the Mangano frozen assessment roll. The group of taxpayers applauded County Executive Curran’s plan to fix the corrupted assessment roll.
“Let me be clear to each and every taxpayer. I understand your anger. The Mangano Administration, the GOP Majority in the Legislature and tax grievance firms perfected a system that kept tax burdens unfair, and made select tax grievance firms very rich. You don’t need to hire grievance firms to make sure that you are receiving fair and accurate assessments,” said Curran. “I am changing a corrupted assessment system that was created and maintained by a corrupt administration.”
Taxpayers protested the frozen roll which lead to shifted tax burdens and higher school tax rates:
- The group of taxpayers protested the broken assessment system and complained that Mangano and the Republicans on the County Legislature caused the current financial mess in Nassau County and the big tax shift to unsuspecting property owners.
- The group condemned Legislators who took campaign contributions from tax grievance firms, did nothing and let those firms collect millions of dollars in fees for property grievances.
- Taxpayers demanded to know why Mangano and the Republicans didn’t do their jobs and produce a fair assessment roll every year instead of using a frozen roll for 8 years.
- The group expressed outrage over increasing school tax rates which were forced up by the yearly loss of property value in each school district.
Curran: “Your Property Values are Accurate”
Along with David Moog, County Assessor, County Executive Laura Curran assured property owners that the county’s 2020/21 assessment roll is fair and accurate for all taxpayers and not just those that grieve.
The residents who joined her have seen both increases and decreases in their taxes due to their new property values.
“We did the job that Mangano and the Republicans were afraid to do,” said Curran. “We reassessed property in Nassau County, and the good news is property is worth more than it was 8 years ago. If you think your market value is wrong, you still have the right to grieve but you don’t need a tax grievance firm anymore to get the correct level of assessment. Don’t pay a fee when you don’t need to. We won’t be doing mass settlements anymore.”
“For too long, many Nassau County residents have paid more than their fair share of taxes,” said Legislator Debra Mule. “That is why I support the County Executive’s Taxpayer Protection Plan and the administration’s ongoing efforts to make our broken assessment system fair and accurate again. I urge any taxpayer that has concerns about their assessment to take advantage of the additional satellite offices and other important resources being made available during this process.”
“During my campaign I promised to fix the broken assessment system and I am holding firm on that promise,” said Curran. “I have a Taxpayer Protection Plan that will phase-in the tax impact over at least five years. We want to ease the strain on property owners while protecting the County from an ongoing financial mess.”
- County Executive Laura Curran asked the Republican Majority to stop spreading uncertainty about the accuracy of the new fair market values; to use the Prognose system to validate home values; to stop complaining about the lower level of assessment and announce their support for her Taxpayer Protection Plan now;
- Curran called for an end to the fear mongering and scare tactics being used by some elected officials; and,
Curran urged Legislators to visit www.askthecountyassessor.com where they will find answers to FAQs and their property’s Prognose report, and can schedule an appointment to visit one of the satellite offices established by the Department of Assessment to review their assessment and tax impact statement to better understand the new assessment roll. Our own Legislators need to understand the reforms and support them.
