Johnson opposes state legislation Mangano wants

State Sen. Craig Johnson has refused a request by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano to introduce state legislation Mangano said he needs to help fix the county's property tax assessment system.

Johnson (D-Port Washington) said in a letter to Mangano on Tuesday that he was concerned that the legislation would be unfair to commercial property owners, was unconstitutional on its face and did not have the support of Mangano's own Assessment Review Team.

"It is my hope that you will meet with ART and other opponents of this legislation and work out a resolution beneficial to all Nassau County residents and business owners," Johnson wrote.

Mangano, a Republican, said Johnson's letter "reflects a lack of understanding of our process of assessment reform," and he would press state lawmakers to introduce the bills.

The rebuff from Johnson comes five months into Mangano's tenure and calls into question whether he can move quickly to fix the property tax assessment system as he pledged during his election campaign last fall.

"Albany is in a rush to adjourn right now, and getting any legislation through at this point would be difficult, very difficult," said Desmond Ryan, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a pro-business group that has concerns about the legislation.

The proposed state bill is aimed at speeding the commercial appeals process and accounts for about 80 percent of more than $100 million paid annually in county refunds.

The bill, one of five or six on the issue Mangano has circulated in Albany, would make the commercial property owner responsible for the first 10 percent of any reduction in value. An owner who challenged a $1-million assessment on a property, for example, would not get a refund on the first $100,000 in any lowered assessment.

Another bill pending before the Nassau County Legislature would require commercial property owners who want to challenge their assessment to submit a certified appraisal or a good-faith counter offer to the county's assessment by Oct. 1. If they do neither and proceed with an appeal, they would be fined $5,000.

Members of ART have characterized that bill as "an assault on small business."

The local bill stands on its own and does not need state approval, Mangano aides said, while any bill passed in Albany would be overlapping with the county bill and would require a home rule message from the county legislature.

And while the local bill was to go before the full legislature on Monday, it was pulled at Mangano's request until June 21, a spokeswoman for the presiding officer, Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa,) said Thursday.

Mangano and his top aides met with ART members Thursday. "I don't want to say it was a successful meeting, but it didn't go poorly either," Mark Hamer, chairman of ART, said later.

Concerns raised by Johnson

Concerns state Sen. Craig Johnson raised with Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's proposed property tax assessment legislation:

- It appears to be punitive and pushes commercial property owners to settle.

- It raises constitutional issues because allowing a 10 percent margin for error by the assessor's office deprives the owner of the right to a fair assessment. A possible penalty of up to $5,000 per grievance would allow the Assessment Review Commission to "bully" owners into a settlement.

- Locking a commercial owner into a four-year assessment cycle "does not make sense" because it does not allow for a loss in value if tenants move out.