By Howard Goldstein and Angela Marshall
Over the last two years, Nassau County took on its first property-tax reasssessment in more than 60 years following a lawsuit in 2000 filed by five African Americans charging that the current system overtaxes poorer homeowners and minority neighborhoods.
The first Democrat-led county Legislature agreed and called for a reassessment. Then-County Executive Thomas Gulotta and Charles O'Shea, chairman of the Board of Assessors, joined in the growing chorus favoring reassessment.
Under the new assessment, the county share of assessment of an average residence in North Bellmore will decrease by 2.13 percent, while in southern Bellmore, the average county share increased by .76 percent.
Cole Layer Trumble, the private reassessment firm hired by the county, found the average home in North Bellmore is worth $307,723, while the average home in southern Bellmore is priced at $363,607.
However, property values can vary from street to street and house to house. Some residents may, for example, get a lower tax decrease than neighbors on an adjacent street, and some homes in southern Bellmore may now have lower taxes even as the community sees a slight increase.
Lou Gottfried, of Bellmore, is a purchasing agent with I.G. Federal Electric Supply Company in Long Island City. He is unhappy about his tax increase, but he believes the assessment was accurate.
"I have no qualms about this, since I understand the whole process to the result of an equality issue. I don't enjoy having taxes go up, but I think the number Cole Layer Trumble gave is correct. I checked it against another assessor, and the numbers were nearly the same," he said.
Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) held a public meeting on July 30 to address homeowners' concerns.
"We had about 400 people at the meeting. We wanted to address and hopefully remedy concerns sooner rather than later," said Denenberg.
Many homeowners believed that the appraisal appointments were formal hearings, that they had five to seven days to respond, and that only one appointment was available per homeowner.
Since the public meeting, Cole Layer Trumble has asserted that the appointments are not hearings, that challenges can be made until Nov. 15, and the company now is allowing more than one visit to discuss or contest an assessment.
After a second visit, additional information can be sent by mail.
Denenberg noted that, in addition, homeowners can request and take down information regarding the appraisal process, and there is now a photocopy machine available at Cole Layer Trumble.
However, Bellmore resident Larry Lupo, an eye surgeon, still thinks the process is missing a major step.
"The problem with how they have set up the system," Lupo said, "is that though you can meet with them and present your evidence and what you feel were their flaws, your info. goes into a file, which gets reviewed by a committee. You have no access to information after that. You get no feedback whatsoever on the information you presented. A mechanism that allows for discussion of the submitted facts and figures needs to be instituted. Otherwise, the committee is not accountable for its decision."
Superintendent of Bellmore School District, Sheldon Dumain, expressed concerns over the general tax rise in Bellmore.
"The school districts are not ready for a tax increase," said Dumain.
The North Bellmore and Central Bellmore civic associations both reported hearing almost nothing in complaints from homeowners. Homeowners who disagreed with their assessments, both groups have said, must challenge them on their own.
Residents of the Bellmores who wish to challenge the new assessment must make an appointment with Cole Layer Trumble before Nov. 15. After that, residents must file a formal grievance with Nassau County Assessment Review Commission to protest. The new tax figures will take effect in January 2004.
