NIFA seeks county assessment system audit

Daily Point

Authority Chairman Richard Kessel says it is 'a long time coming'

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, Nassau County’s fiscal watchdog, has released a request for proposals seeking a firm that will do an "operational audit" of the county’s property assessment system.

According to the RFP, which is available on NIFA’s website, the audit will focus on the county’s Department of Assessment and Assessment Review Commission, with attention to residential property assessments specifically. The audit is expected to determine whether final assessment rolls for residential properties were "accurate and equitable," and will also examine whether the county followed recommendations included in county Comptroller Elaine Phillips’ January 2023 analysis of the 2021-22 assessment process.

Phillips' recommendations at the time included updating data, improving training, performing quality control review of property valuations, implementing a system that allowed valuations to be done in-house, and developing a plan to keep assessment rolls current.

NIFA Chairman Richard Kessel told The Point that the audit was "a long time coming," adding that the audit falls under NIFA’s role as a monitor of the county and its operations.

"It’s being done to help everyone figure out how we can reform our assessment system," Kessel said. "It’s an important issue and with the assessment rolls frozen still, I think it’s something we need to delve into."

NIFA previously has contracted with outside firms to conduct operational audits on the Nassau County Attorney’s Office and to issue reports on Nassau University Medical Center, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency and Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.

Submissions to the request for proposals are due by Feb. 9, and a vendor is expected to be selected by March. Kessel said he’d like to see results potentially as soon as late spring.

"We will turn it around as quickly as possible, but we want a thorough review of the process," Kessel said.

A spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not immediately return a request for comment.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Low expectations

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point

Smithtown expected to hire Loud Majority advocate Kevin Smith

The Town of Smithtown is expected to appoint Kevin Smith, co-founder of The Loud Majority — a MAGA political organization that started as the Long Island Loud Majority but has morphed into an effort that also maintains a national focus — to a part-time job as a "public relations assistant," earning $43 an hour.

The appointment is listed on the town board agenda for approval at its next meeting, to be held Thursday at 2 p.m.

According to the listing, the job will be based in the Office of the Supervisor and will be effective Jan. 26.

This isn’t the first time Smith was up for a job in Smithtown. In January 2023, the town board approved hiring him as a part-time audio-visual production specialist, at a salary of $19.91 per hour. But residents pushed back and rallied to protest the hiring. Weeks later, Smith withdrew his job application. 

Now, that pushback has begun again, as some community advocates are posting to social media, urging residents to show up to Thursday’s board meeting to protest Smith’s hiring.

Long Island Loud Majority is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an "antigovernment group." In its early years, the group focused on school board and other local elections, while also acting as a consistent advocate for President Donald Trump, even arguing, incorrectly, that Trump won the 2020 election. More recently, Smith has focused his livestream and podcast on key national issues ranging from immigration to transgender athletes.

And while the group has taken on a more national tone in recent months, Smith and The Loud Majority were outspoken advocates for Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim during his primary campaign last year against former Suffolk Legis. Rob Trotta.

"As a matter of long-standing policy, the Town of Smithtown does not comment on personnel matters, including hiring decisions," Nicole Garguilo, spokeswoman for Wehrheim, told The Point.

Smith did not reply to requests for comment.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.