January 6, 2009

Jennifer Kim
Randolph Yunker (516) 571-5048

SUOZZI ANNOUNCES NEW ASSESSOR &
ORDERS TOP TO BOTTOM REVIEW OF ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

Mineola, NY – As County Proposition #2 takes effect, Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi today announced the appointment of highly regarded former assessor of Boston, Thaddeus (Ted) J. Jankowski, Jr. as Nassau's new assessor and ordered Mr. Jankowski to immediately review and recommend improvements to the assessment system where possible. 

"Thanks to the passage of the referendum that removed politics from the assessment process, Nassau County's assessor will now be a qualified assessment professional, responsible for setting property values for over 418,000 residential and commercial properties," said County Executive Suozzi. "My overall objective is simple:  fix the public's confidence in the assessment system.  Our assessment system will benefit from a full review by an experienced professional and I am confident Mr. Jankowski will help make Nassau a model for best practices in assessment."

On Election Day 2008, Nassau County residents voted "YES" in a public referendum to professionalize the assessment system and make the assessor an appointed position.  Until this year, the Nassau County Assessor has been a politically elected official, permitted to run for office regardless of any related professional experience.  Now, for the first time in the history of the County, the County Executive is appointing the Assessor.  The appointment will require confirmation by the legislature.

Due to the decline in the housing market, assessments have been reduced across the board and almost all of Nassau County residents will see lower home assessments by an average of 17% for the newest tax roll to be released next week (2010-11 tax roll).  The assessment reductions will be reflected in the annual Notice of Tentative Assessed Value for 2010-11 that will be mailed to all homeowners this week.  In almost all communities, 96% of homeowners will see lowered assessments for the 2010-11 tax year.

"Given today's declining real estate market and economic crisis, it is even more important that a home's assessed value must accurately reflect market conditions so that the county can continue to reduce its property tax refund liability which results from successful residential and commercial assessment challenges," stated County Executive Suozzi. "While I am encouraged that the residential portion of the property tax refund liability has dropped drastically in the last three years, I will not be satisfied until the property tax liability burden is significantly reduced."

Mr. Jankowski will be in charge of facilitating and overseeing the coordination and communication of assessment information between the Assessment Review Commission (ARC), Office of the County Attorney and the Department of Assessment, in addition to working with the NYS Office of Real Property Services and the County Legislature.  The comprehensive study Suozzi called for today will include an examination of cyclical assessments that would potentially change Nassau's system from annual county assessments to bi- or tri-annual assessments, in addition to identifying opportunities for improvement in the residential and commercial valuation process; restructuring Department of Assessment operations; re-focusing the department's priorities under an appointed assessor.  The Assessor is expected to submit a report to the County Executive in sixty days.

"As I have always stated, everyone associated with my administration is part of a team," Suozzi concluded.  "The only way we will be able to reduce our tax refund liability is by working together, through cooperation, dedication, ingenuity and hard work, just as we did when we rescued Nassau County from the brink of bankruptcy after I first took office in 2002."

About Thaddeus J. Jankowski, Jr.

Thaddeus J. Jankowski, Jr., who has headed Jankowski Associates, LLC, an international assessment consulting firm, since 1980, has distinguished himself as the Commissioner of Assessing for the City of Boston for eight years.  A former founder and President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the International Association of Assessing Officers, Mr. Jankowski has also served as City Manager of South Portland, ME; Assistant City Manager & Chief Operating Officer of Worcester, MA; President & CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board in Boston, MA; Deputy City Manager & Chief Financial Officer of Portsmouth, NH; Commissioner of Assessing for the City of Boston, MA; Chief Assessor/ Assistant to the Mayor for Fiscal Affairs for the City of Newton, MA; Chairman of the Board of Assessors for the Town of Oxford, MA; Assistant Assessor for the City of Worcester, MA. 

A graduate of Boston College, Ted Jankowski is an accredited assessor and the author of the book, Massachusetts Property Revaluation: Taxpayers Rights and Procedures.  He is the recipient of The World Bank's 1999 Award for Excellence, for his work in Thailand's "Land Titling Project," widely known as the international model for successful land titling and land valuation, and was awarded the National Center of Public Productivity Award by Rutgers University for originating a nationally recognized payment-in-lieu-of-tax program (PILOT) for tax exempt institutions that generated more than $17 million in revenue for the City of Boston annually.  In 2004, Mr. Jankowski was appointed by the Mayor of Boston to head the Inspectional Services Department Management Review Commission.