Nassau County tax assessments remain frozen

Michael Malaszczyk

Originally published in LI Herald

It’s a vital component of the property tax system, yet for the third straight year, Nassau County won’t be conducting a tax assessment of homes and businesses.

Such a freeze first gained momentum under former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, but was lifted by his successor, Laura Curran. However, the freeze was re-implemented during Covid-19, and now continues under Bruce Blakeman’s tenure.

The difference — at least according to the County Legislature’s Democratic minority — is that Blakeman campaigned against Curran, promising to roll back the tax increases caused by the reassessments done under her administration. Yet they still remain frozen.

State Sen. Kevin Thomas joined in the chorus against the freeze to highlight that grievance process.

“Every homeowner in Nassau has received solicitations from tax grievance workers, myself included,” Thomas said. “These grievance workers use deceitful tactics that lead many to believe filing a grievance is just too complicated for the average resident.

“That is not the case — homeowners can file grievances themselves. You are not required to use an attorney or a specialist, nor is there a fee to file. You can even file online from today until March 1 by yourself. It should be as simple as that.”

Thomas introduced a bill in Albany intending to bring more trust and transparency to the tax grievance process.

Read the full article here.