Hempstead supervisor: Fire Nassau assessor over 'massive tax increase'
Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin and other elected officials Monday demanded the firing of Nassau's tax assessor after a 2020 reassessment produced a "slew of errors," leading to "massive tax increases" for more than 200,000 county homeowners.
Clavin called on Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to fire assessor David Moog at a news conference in response to a Newsday story Monday reporting that 214,000 homeowners, or 65%, will pay higher taxes this year, compared with 115,000 who got reductions, or 35%, according to a county analysis.
"This article says it all," Clavin said. "Hundreds of thousands of residents are now facing higher taxes thanks to the Curran tax. And while residents were told years ago, 'Oh this is not going to see a tax increase for half the residents,' reality is quite different."
Clavin continued, "That is why I, along with my colleagues … not only at the town level but at the county level, are calling for the immediate termination of the county assessor, and calling on the county executive to take responsibility for the continuing errors, for her massive tax increase and appoint somebody that is going to go to that position and fix the reoccurring problems."
Clavin accused Curran of issuing "falsities" about the reassessments by saying there were no errors.
In a statement, a Curran spokesman, Michael Fricchione, said: "The Supervisor is trying to distract from recent federal and state calls to investigate his questionable spending practices of COVID emergency funds. He should know that school taxes, which makes up the vast majority of property taxes, are calculated and sent out by school districts after being voted on directly by residents every year. Nassau County assesses the market value of properties."
Clavin said school district increases were a small factor in the school tax hikes, placing the "majority" of the blame on the reassessment.
He held his news conference outside the Rockville Centre home of Charles Kelleher, who officials said had an $800 school tax increase this year.
"I was shocked when I got the bill because we got something from the county last year that said our taxes were going down $500, which is a lot of money for somebody like us," said Kelleher, a Suffolk County police sergeant, standing outside his home with his daughter Erin, 20. He said he also has a son in high school and his wife works part-time.
"If it goes up $800 every year, I’m not sure how much longer we can stay on Long Island," Kelleher said. "This is shocking."
Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll said: "Many, many other residents are experiencing the same thing."
The school tax bill for a family in Oceanside had been $5,400 in 2019, Driscoll said. It spiked to $17,100 in 2020, after their tax impact statement said their 2020 school tax bill would be $5,800, according to Driscoll. She said she had received hundreds of letters from residents complaining about the reassessments.
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