Common Sense Act of 2010 Pending Before the Nassau County Legislature
In 1938, the Nassau County requested authority from the State of New York for the County to have county-wide property assessment jurisdiction for the entire County. Later, in 1948, the State Legislature decreed that Nassau County would be held responsible for costs and penalties resulting from its errors in assessment.
What is Tax Certiorari?
Tax certiorari is the legal process by which a property owner can challenge the real estate tax assessment on a given property in attempt to reduce the property's assessment and real estate taxes. If the property owner prevails, then the assessment is changed and the property owner's taxes are reduced. Under current law, Nassau County is responsible for paying the tax certiorari settlements on behalf of all school districts in the County. Under the Mangano Proposal, school districts would have the responsibility for paying the tax certiorari settlements.
How would the change affect Freeport residents?
The Mangano Plan is scheduled for consideration by the Nassau County legislature on October 29, 2010. If the legislation is approved, the responsibility for paying the tax certiorari settlements for Freeport property owners would shift from Nassau County to School District taxes. The Nassau County Assessor's Office has not released the costs for individual school districts before the legislative vote on this issue. The District estimates that this change would impact $1.5 to $2.5 million to the District's annual District budget.