Judge backs Nassau in tax challenge case

A State Supreme Court justice has ruled for Nassau County in its effort to make towns, schools and other special districts responsible for successful property tax challenges.

Justice Thomas Adams' ruling Wednesday dismissed a challenge to a law passed by the county in November 2010 that forces such public entities to reimburse the county for tax refunds it made on their behalf.

Since the late 1940s, Nassau, which does countywide tax assessments, has paid all of the refunds even though it received only about 20 percent of the tax revenue. In recent years the refunds have cost the county about $80 million a year, almost all of which has to be borrowed.

"This decision is a giant step forward in reforming the broken property tax assessment system that has wasted over $2 billion of our residents' tax dollars," said County Executive Edward Mangano. He added that he wants to meet with the municipalities affected to form a state proposal to fix the 63-year-old state law that has the county pay all of the refunds.

But school officials said they plan to appeal the decision.

"I am disappointed in the ruling and am pretty sure we will appeal it," said James Mapes, superintendent of the Baldwin school district.

Louis Frontario, acting schools superintendent in Oceanside, said he does not know the financial impact of the ruling on schools, but it could average as much as $1 million for each of Nassau's 54 school districts, "and that would be $1 million in programs that we could not give our children."

In 1948, the county's administrative code was amended so that Nassau kept any surplus in taxes and paid any refunds.The schools argued that to now make them pay would be devastating and "interfere, restrict and impinge upon their providing educational services."

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, whose town had been a party to the lawsuit, said he would continue to stand with the schools. "It was not fair for the county to do the assessment and then make the towns and schools pay for their [the county's] mistakes," he said.

Adams said the intent of the 2010 county law was "to place Nassau on the same legislative footing as other counties in the state."