The Nassau Interim Finance Authority announced it will conduct an audit of the Nassau County Department of Assessment last week.
NIFA Chairman Richie Kessel said the audit will examine not only how the department functions, but also the structure of Nassau County’s property assessment system, which has drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
“The assessment rolls have never been reformed or fixed,” Kessel said and called the audit “a longtime coming.”
NIFA, the state-appointed fiscal oversight agency, issued a request for proposals last week.
Kessel said he expects to select an auditing firm in the next few weeks and for the audit to be completed by the summer.
“[The assessment rolls] have been frozen for years and that creates tremendous inequities in different people’s assessments and ultimately the property taxes they pay,” he said.
The Department of Assessment determines the taxable value of properties, which are then used by local governments and school districts to calculate tax bills.
Efforts to reach County Executive Bruce Blakeman were unavailing, but in a statement to Newsday last week, Blakeman, who is running for governor, said NIFA “has no business auditing the assessment department” and accused the authority of acting politically.
“We will resist any attempt by Hochul’s political allies on the NIFA board to hurt the taxpayers of Nassau County,” Blakeman said.
Blakeman, who previously called the county’s assessment process broken, also said Nassau voters rejected a full reassessment of property values and defended the county’s financial standing, pointing to bond rating upgrades during his first term in office.
The audit comes as Nassau County’s property tax system remains one of the most contentious issues facing homeowners.
Data previously obtained through public records requests shows that the majority of homeowners who file grievances receive settlements lowering their assessed property values.
Kessel said NIFA had considered launching the audit last year but delayed the decision to avoid the appearance of political motivation.
“We did look at it last year, but we decided to put it off because Bruce Blakeman was running for re-election, and we didn’t want anyone to think it was political in any way,” Kessel said.
“We can’t keep putting it off every year because he wants to run for something every year. That’s just not appropriate,” Kessel said, emphasizing that the audit is “not political in any way.”
The audit will be conducted under NIFA’s authority as Nassau County’s fiscal watchdog. The agency has broad powers to audit county departments and spending practices.
Kessel said the goal is to identify structural problems and recommend long-term reforms that could reduce inequities across the county.
Kessel said the findings of the audit will be made public when completed.
