Assessment Review panel facing big layoffs

Amid the highest number of property tax challenges in five years, nearly half of the 40 employees in the Nassau agency that reviews the cases are scheduled to be laid off this week.

Tuesday, the Republican-controlled county Legislature is expected to approve County Executive Edward Mangano's request to lay off 128 union workers, including 16 from the Assessment Review Commission. If the layoffs are approved, Thursday will be their last day in their current jobs.

Mangano projects the total layoffs will save $10.6 million annually in salary and benefits, with about $1.5 million coming from the ARC. The legislature's Budget Review Office estimates total savings would be lower, at $3.4 million this year after unemployment costs are deducted, with ARC accounting for about half a million dollars.

The job cuts also target 43 employees from the department that sets property assessments in the wake of Mangano's imposition of a four-year freeze on assessments. But there is no freeze on challenges, which jumped 15.7 percent this year: 137,325 property owners sought reduced assessments during this year's grievance period, including 116,493 single-family homeowners.

The county has been paying $100 million annually in refunds on average for more than a decade, more than 80 percent because of successful challenges filed by owners of commercial properties. The resulting strain on the county budget helped persuade a state board to take control of Nassau's finances in January.

Mangano and ARC chairman Darlene Harris said earlier this month that the agency, which attempts to settle protests before refunds are due, will work with increased efficiency.

But critics have doubts. "I have serious questions that have not been addressed yet as to how they're going to do more with less," said Legis. Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn).

And Civil Service Employee Association President Jerry Laricchiuta, who represents the targeted employees, said, "There's no way they can do that much work without hiring outside agencies. We're going to be suing them from day one as soon as anyone outside CSEA does that work."

Mangano spokesman Brian Nevin said the county plans to "mirror" an outside consultant's settlement program used last year to negotiate the assessment challenges. The county will not pay the consultant, Matt Smith of Standard Valuation Services, to handle this year's cases.

Nevin called Smith's program "a huge success" that saved the county $20 million in future refunds. Smith reported he reviewed nearly 60,000 residential cases last year and settled 56,753. If all 60,000 had been appealed to court, he said, about half would have received reductions, for an average $650 refund.

But past county reports indicate the estimated savings would be lower -- $7 million to $8 million -- because, for the past several years, less than half the residential challenges denied by ARC are appealed to court and less than half of those wind up being reduced.

Nevin countered that the $650 average applies to all filed protests. "Winners average $1,200 to $1,300 per case," he said. But a report from the county treasurer's office shows the average "winners" refund last year was about $533: The county paid 11,686 homeowners $6,225,771 in refunds, including interest.