Today, Nassau County Assessor David Moog finalized and published the 2020-2021 assessment roll, which is the final step in successfully completing the first countywide property reassessment in nearly a decade. Included in the final roll are the Assessment Review Commission’s (ARC) final determinations on grievances filed after the reassessment on the County’s 2020-2021 tentative assessment roll.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that it was an effort to restore fairness and accuracy to what she called the County’s broken and corrupted property assessment system.
“While the health and safety of Nassau’s 1.4 million residents and our employees is always my top priority – now more than ever – I remain committed to fulfilling my promise of fixing the broken system that had half of property owners overpaying in taxes,” she said. “Considering the high taxes that our homeowners pay, they deserve assurance that the amounts they are paying are based on fair property assessments. With the significant decrease in grievance reductions after the reassessment, we now have even more data that shows we are on the right path. I thank the dedicated employees of the Dept. of Assessment and Assessment Review Commission for their tremendous effort, taking on the challenging reassessment from start to finish.”
“I am proud of the remarkable progress we’ve made to overhaul the broken assessment system, despite the many obstacles we faced. I thank the County Executive for prioritizing our department and providing us with the resources needed to accomplish the reassessment and ultimately produce one of the most accurate assessment rolls in the state,” said County Assessor David Moog. “With our increase in staff and quality control procedures in place, each year going forward we expect an even stronger, more accurate assessment roll that will properly reflect the current real estate market.”
There were 227,475 residential grievances filed on the 2020-2021 tentative roll. Of those filings, ARC made 60,760 reductions, or about 16% of residential (class one) properties, a dramatic decrease from last year’s 175,067 residential reductions. During the frozen roll, the County reduced approximately one million residential cases while one half of property owners were unfairly subsidizing the other half.
“Over the past year, my staff worked tirelessly to ensure a meaningful review of grievance filings on the first unfrozen assessment roll in almost a decade,” said ARC Chairperson Robin Laveman. “We found that a majority of property assessments were accurate and did not warrant a reduction, reflecting a great improvement on property values from the frozen period.”
Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) Update
Homeowners who do not settle with ARC have the right to file an appeal with SCAR if they want to continue to challenge their assessment after receiving ARC’s final determination. While the deadline to file with SCAR is typically the last business day in April, New York State (State) has limited court operations during the COVID-19 health crisis and the Governor’s Executive Order has suspended 2020-2021 SCAR filings until April 19, 2020.
The new deadline for filing with SCAR is May 19, 2020 (unless this date is extended by further order). The County will continue to comply with State mandates and keep residents up to date.
Additional 30-Day Grace Period for Grievance Filings with ARC
While the 2020-2021 assessment roll has been finalized, if homeowners disagree with their tentative assessment for the 2021-2022 assessment roll released in January of this year, there is still time to file a grievance with ARC. At the County Executive’s request to assist residents during the COVID-19 emergency, the 2021-2022 grievance filing period has been further extended with an additional 30-day grace period ending on April 30, 2020, having been extended once earlier.
Complying with State guidelines to ban gatherings of any kind to help slow the spread of the virus, ARC’s customer service window is now closed. The ARC team remains available to answer questions by phone or email at 516-571-3214 or ARC@nassaucountyny.gov.
As residents are urged to stay home during this outbreak, they are strongly encouraged to watch the brief video on ARC’s homepage that demonstrates how to easily file a grievance online in just a few minutes. Homeowners can also mail their application to 240 Old Country Road, 5th Floor, Mineola, N.Y. 11501 or use the drop box located outside the office.
