Last 7 members of Nassau tax appeals panel fired

The remaining seven members of Nassau's tax appeals panel were fired late Friday after a judge lifted a court order that had barred the move. The two other members had not contested their dismissal.

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement that ridding the Assessment Review Commission of all nine of its sitting members was one of the first steps toward reforming the county's troubled tax assessment system.

He gave no timetable for naming replacements.

One of the dismissed commissioners, John Lewis of Farmingdale, said the assessment commissioners did not set policy, and that the firings were improper because the court order allowing the firings had not been filed with the court clerk's office before the dismissal hearing was scheduled.

Lewis, speaking for himself and two other commissioners, said he would win on appeal and called the firings bush league.

Justice Roy Mahon of the State Supreme Court in Mineola had issued an order late Thursday lifting an earlier court order that prohibited the dismissals.

A spokesman for Mangano said in a statement that the decision meant the county was "one step closer to our goal of fixing the property tax assessment system. The county executive is determined to let nothing stand in his way to make that happen for the people."

Mangano wanted to appoint his own people to the Assessment Review Commission, who would earn less and share his views as he tried to fix the troubled assessment system, which results in about $100 million in annual refunds because of overcharges.

The letters of dismissal were read into the record at a hearing Friday in the ceremonial chambers of the Theodore Roosevelt Building in Mineola, and attorneys for the commissioners were allowed to make their arguments.

"At this time . . . the ARC commissioners . . . are hereby removed from their positions, effective immediately," Chief Deputy County Executive Rob Walker said at a the conclusion of the session.

The attorneys said the commissioners had been appointed to fixed terms by County Executive Thomas Suozzi in late December and could not be removed without cause.

Legis. Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove), the minority leader, said the firings set a bad precedent. "If the county executive is allowed to buzz-saw through these legitimate appointments, what prevents him from being Attila the Hun, ravaging other legitimate appointments?" she asked.