Tax relief for Sandy victims

The Nassau County Legislature passed a resolution on Monday to adopt the state’s Superstorm Sandy Tax Assessment Relief program, clearing the way for residents to apply for tax refunds on properties damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the law last month as part of a group of initiatives to help ease the financial burden on Sandy victims. It permits local governments to pass laws to retroactively adjust 2012-13 property tax assessments to account for losses in value due to Sandy damage. Both the city and the Long Beach School District have opted to take part in the program.

Under the previous law, local tax assessors had no legal authority to make retroactive adjustments to the assessed value of a property for tax purposes. As a result, many homeowners hit hard by Sandy received property tax bills in Jan. 2013 that were based on the pre-storm value of their properties and did not reflect losses in value attributable to storm damage, Cuomo said in a press release.

The new law will provide for retroactive assessments and allow a tax refund or credit to be issued to property owners who qualify. The amount of tax refund, credit or assessment reduction will depend upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s damage assessment determination as well as past inspections.

A property owner who is dissatisfied with the assessor’s determination may file a complaint with the state’s Board of Assessment Review. Nassau County had to opt in to the program first for it to become available to all cities, towns, villages and school districts in the county. Long Beach announced last month that it would sign on to the program.

“We are proud to partner with Governor Cuomo to provide much-needed property tax relief to families in Long Beach that are still trying to recover from the effects of Superstorm Sandy and rebuild their homes and lives,” said City Council President Scott Mandel.