Nearly 80% of Nassau County homeowners who filed a property tax grievance last year got a reduction, records show

The vast majority of Nassau County homeowners who challenged their property assessments won settlements — 80% last year, compared with nearly 70% the year before — thereby shifting the tax burden to remaining taxpayers, according to data analyzed by Newsday.

Nearly 60% of Nassau homeowners last year — about 227,000 — filed a "grievance,” a formal appeal of their property assessment, according to data from Nassau’s Assessment Review Commission obtained by Newsday through a public records request. Officials gave settlements to about 46% of homeowners — or about 180,000 — lowering their property values by an average of 7%, county data shows.

Grievance settlements are part of what critics call an outdated tax assessment system, where officials multiply the value of a home by a "level of assessment" — 0.1% — that’s been frozen for years. Homeowners frustrated with this assessment can file a grievance to the county’s Assessment Review Commission, which looks at recent home sales and then uses a lower rate — 0.066% — to assess property values.

The last time such a high proportion of homeowners received a settlement was in the 2019-20 tax year. Former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran ordered a countywide reassessment of more than 400,000 Nassau properties, updating tax rolls that had been frozen for nearly a decade. The settlement rate then dropped to 26% for the 2020-21 tax year. In January, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s administration froze the rolls for a fifth straight year.

Stephen Bucaria, chairman of the Assessment Review Commission, the agency that reviews grievance applications, did not answer questions about why officials are doling out more settlements, but said they are doing so more quickly "to keep costs down to our taxpayers."

"We have accelerated the negotiation of tax [grievance] claims in order to avoid payment of claims and interest that have crippled county finances in the past," Bucaria wrote in a statement to Newsday, referring to the costly court process for unresolved appeals.

The Assessment Review Commission has lowered its assessment rate in recent years. In the 2023-2024 tax year, the rate was 0.08%. For the 2024-25 tax year, it was 0.072%. This year, it was 0.066%. With home values being assessed at a lower rate, more homeowners who file an appeal automatically receive a settlement.

The high settlement rate comes amid soaring Nassau home prices, which have jumped more than 12% in the last year and brought the median sale price for a single-family home to $820,000. Researchers say as homes gain value in the market, Nassau’s practice of freezing tax rolls and instituting settlements means its tax system falls farther behind.

"There needs to be regular reassessments done," said Mark Sunderman, a professor at the University of Memphis Tennessee and expert who studies real estate and property taxes. "That allows for any changes in the market to be captured."

When one group of homeowners successfully challenge their property taxes, that shifts a sizable tax burden onto homeowners who did not file a grievance, according to Jeff Gold, former commissioner of the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission. Nassau homeowners who don’t file a grievance — or who file one and fail — are paying for those who do, he added.

"It’s a terrible system ... It’s worse than it’s ever been," he said.

Nassau homeowners can either file a grievance on their own, or hire a professional who charges between 30% to 50% of the tax reduction. Data provided by ARC dating back more than a decade shows attempts to overhaul Nassau’s tax assessment system have been futile, according to Gold.

Tax grievance firms have long-standing political influence, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican campaign committees, candidates and elected officials. The firms also contribute in smaller amounts to their Democratic counterparts — a cycle that critics say helps keep the tax system in place.

Between 2012 and 2019, such firms earned $500 million in client fees, according to an audit by the comptroller’s office.

Nassau County Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick), who is running against Blakeman in November’s county executive race, vowed to eliminate the county’s Department of Assessment and punt assessment responsibility onto towns and cities for "fairer" property valuations. In Suffolk County, the towns assess properties. Koslow also promised to cap firms’ fees to 25% of tax reductions.

"Let the towns and the cities make the determinations to ensure fair market values," Koslow said in a news conference last month. "That’s the way it’s done throughout the rest of the counties in New York State and the rest of the country."

Blakeman has kept property taxes flat since taking office. "Our homeowners have realized an unprecedented increase in home values," Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, wrote in a statement.

As home values go up in the market, more homeowners file grievances, he said, adding that higher sale prices also prompt officials to lower the ARC assessment rate.