Utilities' Reassessment Windfall Hurts Residents of Long Beach

(Mineola, NY) Seeking to help the owners of co-operatives, condominiums, high rise apartments and businesses in Long Beach who have been devastated by the tremendous tax shift that occurred as a result of the loss of public utility tax revenues, Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson announced today that he would be meeting with public utility officials to ask that they return nearly $5 million dollars in tax revenue to the Long Beach School District for the current 2003-04 property tax year.

"When the Long Beach School District abandoned the County's four-class system for a two-class system to determine property tax obligations over twenty years ago, no-one in the district could foresee the effect that the County's court-ordered reassessment would have on the combined classes," stated Assessor Levinson. "Once the level of assessment was set by the County at 1% of a properties full market value last year, the unexpected drop in the assessed value that was applied to utility properties caused a tremendous shift in the tax burden of co-op, condo and small business owners in the district."

In a discussion held with LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel last month, Assessor Levinson had asked that the utility recognize that they were the "recipient of an unintended tax rebate" of over $1 million dollars and pay the school district at the previous tax rate once the required legal and legislative corrective measures were implemented.

Assessor Levinson will be holding discussions with representatives from LIPA, Keyspan and Verizon, early in February, to suggest a number of remedial actions that he believes should be taken to restore fairness and equity to all property owners impacted by the shift.

"Clearly, the public utilities did not anticipate this tax windfall," concluded Assessor Levinson. "In view of the current situation, I am confident that the utilities will recognize that they have a financial obligation to the taxpayers of the Long Beach School District and will embrace the corrective measures as they are finalized."