Mangano signs off on assessment plan

County Executive Edward Mangano Wednesday predicted he could save county taxpayers much as $50 million next year - and nearly $300 million over four years - by changing Nassau's costly property tax assessment system.

Signing two executive orders, Mangano directed that commercial property challengers submit certified appraisals by Oct. 1 or pay a $5,000 fine while he also moved to reassess all of Nassau's 418,000 properties every four years instead of annually.

Mangano said the Oct. 1 deadline could immediately cut in half the $100 million in tax refunds the county pays annually by allowing Nassau to settle protests before refunds are due. In the past, the county did not demand commercial appraisals until years after protests were filed.

With commercial values stabilized for another three years, he said the county could save millions more before new assessments are issued in 2015.

"In this fiscal climate, in this economy, we cannot afford to continue down this spiraling waste of taxpayer dollars," Mangano said at a news conference in Mineola.

Nassau spends $150 million annually to pay down a $1.1 billion debt from past tax refunds even as property owners file more than 100,000 new protests every year. More than 80 percent of the refunds go to commercial property owners.

But Mangano's projected savings from the new Oct. 1 deadline for business owners may be optimistic: County officials have talked for two decades without success about forcing commercial challengers to submit more information earlier. In the past, there was no penalty for not doing so. This would be the first time a fine would be assessed for noncompliance.

Asked if the county will realize the $300 million savings, Mark Hamer, a commercial property landlord who heads Mangano's volunteer assessment reform team, said, "It depends on the implementation." If property owners comply and the assessment review commission, which considers appeals, moves faster, "it's possible it can make that impact."

Mangano did not have an estimate on how much the county will save by assessing every four years rather than annually. He said the assessor will continue to make corrections; for example, increasing assessments when additions are built. He also said property owners can continue to file annual protests.

Christine Hirschfeld, a 20-year homeowner in Long Beach, doesn't like the idea of reassessing every four years. "I just think that with the wild fluctuation in property values and this economic environment you can't wait four years for your next tax increase," she said. "You can't budget it, especially if you're unemployed or underemployed."

Nonetheless, Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) said, "The price of doing nothing is bankruptcy."

Attorney Jeffrey Forchelli, a Republican who represents commercial owners, said resolving protests at an early stage "is a very, very good thing for the county," and described Mangano's order as "a bold initiative to try to solve the problem."

But Steven Schlesinger, a Democrat whose law firm handles large commercial protests, pointed out that commercial appraisals often cost much more than the $5,000 fine. "It's not a big fine for a big office building. It's an awful big fine for a mom-and-pop who own the real estate where they operate their business," he said.

Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) said reform needs to start with the assessment review commission, which has "utterly failed" to settle past protests quickly.

"Getting the appraisal to the assessment review commission by Oct. 1 might be like feeding steak to a pig if they can't substantively review each of the challenges before April 1 of the next year," he said.