Nassau panel approves new county assessor

A Nassau legislative committee approved David Moog, a longtime New York City assessment official, as county assessor on Monday, setting the stage for ending a nearly eight-year period during which an acting assessor ran the office.

Moog would take the helm as the county works to reassess all residential and commercial properties. Moog, who was nominated by Democratic County Executive Laura Curran, will be paid $165,000 a year.

“Mr. Moog has the exact, right qualifications for the job,” Curran said, noting that New York City, like Nassau, assesses taxes on four classes of property. “I’m very excited to have a credentialed, qualified assessor in the spot, which is what the [county] charter mandates.”

The full legislature, which meets next on June 18, must approve Moog’s appointment.

Moog, 55, of Sunnyside, has worked for the past nine years as a senior analyst and negotiator with District Council 37, New York City’s largest public employee union. He is a former president of the New York City Assessors, Appraisers and Housing Development Specialists, Local 1757.

A graduate of New York University, Moog has a master’s degree in Public Administration from CUNY Baruch College. He said he is certified by the Institute of Assessing Officers, part of the New York State Assessors’ Association.

Moog said he “looked forward to taking on the challenges of handling the Nassau County assessment office.” He called it “a very important challenge for the county to have this [reassessment] process done correctly, for the future of the county.”

Curran is planning for two firms to complete the reassessment of county properties later this year. Tentative rolls will come out in January. Tax bills for schools would arrive in November 2020, followed by county tax bills in January 2021.

In March the county estimated that claims related to taxpayer overpayments, including for utilities, was about $500 million as of the end of 2017.

“We’re on track to have a new tentative roll in January 2019. We’re looking to make significant improvement in our assessments which . . . is the root of so many of our financial problems,” Curran said in an interview.

James Davis has served as acting Nassau assessor since 2011.

Also Monday, a Nassau legislative committee voted 4-3 to reauthorize the bicounty Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection for another five years. The full legislature must approve the extension of the commission, which was set to expire at the end of the year.

Minority Democrats have expressed concern they don’t have a voting representative on the board. The county executive and the legislative presiding officer can appoint members, but the minority caucus member does not have voting rights.

The Suffolk County Legislature approved a 5-year extension of the commission last month in a 16-2 vote. Water advocates had criticized the commission, saying it had too many water suppliers as voting members.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler covers Nassau County government and politics for Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.