Charles O'Shea, Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors, visited Anton Communty Newspapers offices on Thursday, Jan. 23, to bring the editors up to date on the ongoing Tax Assessment Project. Mr. O'Shea confirmed the fact that he plans to run for re-election to his post in November and expects to point to the success of the project in his campaign. "Is it perfect?" he asked rhetorically, and answered, "no." "Is it a tremendous improvement? Yes." Did the county get its money's worth? Yes." The money he was talking about is the $34 million contract that Nassau County awarded to Cole, Layer, Trumble, the assessing professionals who carried out the project. Mr. O'Shea said that the contract called for Cole, Layer, Trumble to assess 414,000 parcels of property, making the contract work out to approximately $90 a parcel. Residential properties amounted to 360,000 parcels.

Nassau's first countywide reassessment since 1938 was part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by minority homeowners who contended the county's archaic system of valuing property forced their communities to subsidize the taxes of wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods.

The court ordered the new assessments to be based on fair market values and to be put in place by Jan. 1. On Dec. 20, State Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow approved the new residential values and set standards for updating the rolls each year to reflect the changing real estate market. The assessors will put out an RFP (request for proposals) for assessing companies to perform these annual reassessments. Cole, Layer, Trumble would be a candidate for this contract.

As a result of the reassessment, Mr. O'Shea told the editors that Nassau County is now the "most accurately assessed large area in New York State." The Board of Assessors voted 3-2 to approve the Cole, Trumble, Layer findings and the plaintiffs also reviewed them and asked the judge to approve, according to O'Shea. The new roll approved on Dec. 30 is tentative and won't be final until April 1. From Jan. 2 to March 3, homeowners who disagree with the new values placed on their homes can file petitions to challenge their assessments with the Nassau Assessment Review Commission. Homeowners will see the effect of the new values in their October 2003 school tax bills. Residents can call the Department of Assessment at 516 571-1500 to obtain a grievance application or log on to the county website www.co.nassau.ny.us.

Mr. O'Shea stressed the fact that his office is "not trying to do social correcting. The market will correct itself." He said that the real market on Long Island is still "incredibly strong," adding that "your best investment is still a home in Nassau County." He also said that the annual update mandated by Judge Winslow will keep us "on the cutting edge as far as prices go." Among the reasons for the strong real estate market, he said, is the strength of Nassau County's schools and the fact that we have "water on both shores." "No one is fleeing Nassau County," he said. "They're just looking for something more affordable."

At Judge Winslow's behest, the assessor's office created a website, www.mynassauproperty.com, on which people can check their own reassessment as well as those of their neighbors. The site has proved remarkably popular, with 25 million pages downloaded between Sept. 5 and Dec. 5.

Mr. O'Shea also noted that a number of attorneys have solicited business from those who wish to challenge their reassessments. "Ninety-nine percent of these attorneys are legitimate professionals," he said, "but read before you sign anything." He also noted that homeowners do not have to hire attorneys to represent them in these cases, but may challenge their reassessments on their own, "pro se."

Mr. O'Shea said that he would have preferred to see the reassessments phased in gradually, "a softer landing," in his terms, but Judge Winslow said that the aggrieved people were entitled to immediate relief.

Asked about his run for re-election, Mr. O'Shea said that he expects his opponent to be Harvey Levinson, County Executive Thomas Suozzi's special assistant for reassessment. As far as his own campaign is concerned, he said that there are other issues than reassessment. He pointed to the STAR exemptions, in particular, stating that his office created the "largest property tax exemptions in Nassau County history." Presently 236,000 property owners are getting tax exempt status.