Assessor Levinson to hold Town Meeting in North Hempstead

(Mineola-NY) Harvey B. Levinson, the newly elected Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors, will hold the first in a series of countywide public meetings regarding reassessment at Clinton G. Martin Park Recreation Center in North Hempstead on Friday, February 20th from 10 a.m. to Noon.

"In an attempt to restore the public's confidence in the Department of Assessment's ability to do its job and value property correctly, I am going to conduct a series of town meetings throughout the county so that I can hear, firsthand, the concerns that are on the minds of our residents," stated Assessor Levinson.

As a first step aimed at creating an assessment system that is fair and equitable for all residents, Assessor Levinson pledged to establish an ongoing and constructive dialogue with all homeowners that will enable him to conduct a comprehensive audit of the formulas and models used by the County's reassessment contractor, the Cole-Layer-Trumble Company (CLT), in establishing values.

"Nassau County paid millions of dollars to businesses and homeowners over the last ten years as a result of successful challenges to the flawed assessment values placed on previous rolls," stated Assessor Levinson. "That is why it is imperative that the contractor and the Department of Assessment get the values right so we can stop the financial hemorrhaging that impacts every taxpayer."

By the end of the 2004 Grievance Period that was closed in March of 2003, nearly 97,000 residents filed challenges to their assessed values - the largest filing against any assessing jurisdiction in the State of New York. The Town of Hempstead led all towns with residential challenges totaling 55,328, Town of Oyster Bay with 21,327, and North Hempstead with 17,680. The Cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove accounted for 2,649 residential challenges.

"Together, we can improve our property assessment system so that we can avoid the tax surprises experienced by many and understood by few," Assessor Levinson continued. "I urge any property, home and business owner in the North Hempstead area who has a question or problem regarding Nassau County's assessment system, to join me on February 20th."

The Clinton G. Martin Park Recreation Center is located at New Hyde Park Road and Marcus Avenue in New Hyde Park. For further information please contact the Department of Assessment at (516) 571-2490.

"If you can't attend, please know that my door is never closed, and my staff is always ready to address your concerns," concluded Assessor Levinson.