ONLINE EDITION FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2001

Opinion

At the June 19 meeting of the Levittown Property Owners Association, Charles O'Shea, chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors, spoke on the Nassau County Residential and Commercial Property Reassessment Project now in progress. He was accompanied by Jim Culver, a consultant hired by the county who is a director of National State Assessment Association. The county has hired the Cole Layer Trumble Co. as its agent to implement the reassessment. Over 40 companies took part in the competitive process of selection.

Mr. O'Shea is known to LPOA members from previous visits when he served as our New York state assemblyman for 11 years, before being elected to his present position as chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessment. He has always been welcomed by the LPOA as someone who truly cares for Levittown.

O'Shea stated that the need for this project is due to the fact that current property assessment is based on 1938 construction costs. The county has not updated its evaluation of residential property in over 60 years, and of commercial property in over 50 years. These outdated values will be replaced by reassessment "committed to fairness and equity to all Nassau property owners," with assessment based on market value appraisals (or the selling price) of property. The inequities of the past method resulted in overassessment and tax overpayments which were successfully challenged. This situation has contributed to the county's huge debt. Some residents also claim that the existing system is discriminatory. O'Shea stressed throughout his remarks that the primary reason for this project is "equity and fairness," and the reassessment of over 420,000 parcels of real estate based on "fair market value" will accomplish this.

The project will take almost three years. It began in October 2000, and will be concluded about January, 2003. The project will be conducted in four phases. The first began last October, when photographs were taken of every home and business. The "image gathering" (or photographing) is done from the public right of way (or sidewalk), with descriptions stored in a special database on Property Record Cards which can be reviewed and updated.

The second phase includes "data verification" on the "Property Record Card," such as square footage, additions, sale price, a sketch or a "footprint" photo taken from above, etc. Such data will be updated yearly. O'Shea stressed that the homeowner's privacy is respected throughout the process so no one will enter the property without making a specific appointment.

The third phase, which began about three weeks ago (in summer, 2001) gets homeowners and businesses more involved. A "data mailer" or printed report will be sent to homes and businesses with information and descriptions used in valuing (assessing) the property. The homeowner or business can provide any needed corrections, and return the data mailer to the Cole Layer Trumble Company (not the county) with corrections. If the data is correct, the property owner needs to do nothing more. This is the information used to place value on your home and so it should be kept with important homeowner records.

The fourth phase will begin in the summer of 2002. Actual value estimates of each home will be determined. They will be based on investor's sale prices and dates of comparable sales within three years, and on replacement costs which also include land values. The new "tentative appraised value" notice will be sent to homeowners; if the homeowner agrees with it, no action will need to be taken. If he disagrees, he can meet with the Cole Layer Trumble Co. to resolve discrepancies.

The mailing of "change of assessment" notices will begin in December 2002, the formal appeal process in January, 2003. The change in the tax will show up in the school tax bill for October, 2003.

O'Shea concluded by saying, "The county takes this project very seriously; it will benefit Nassau County, and the county will have a far better, more accurate and more equitable assessment system." He added that one reason he ran for this job was "to bring fairness to Nassau County," and the "modernized" system will make the tax burden fairer.

O'Shea added that the "construction cost method" does not take into account location. But now where a home is located does affect its market value, and so it must be included as a factor.

When asked if the changes will affect STAR and other exemptions such as those for seniors, home improvements, and veterans, O'Shea said that these are determined by the state and local tax rates, and will not be affected by the reassessment. To ensure the accuracy of the market value factor, O'Shea would like to see the assessment updated yearly. He noted that the county has invested $6 million in computer power to store the information for the project. O'Shea did not offer any specific numbers as to how the new assessment will affect Levittown, but insisted that it will ensure fairness countywide. He distributed a brochure to LPOA members, Reassessment and You - an informational pamphlet on the Nassau County Residential and Commercial Reassessment Project prepared by the county assessor and the Cole Layer Trumble Company. The reassessment hotline number is 873-9701, and their website is http://www.mynassauproperty.com.

The next LPOA meeting will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m., at the Levittown Public Library. After the September meeting, the regularly scheduled meetings will again be on the second Tuesday of the month: Oct. 9, Nov. 13, and Dec. 11.