Nassau homeowners concerned about property tax reassessment

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (FOX 5 NY) - Nassau County is undergoing its first property tax reassessment in almost a decade. For 400,000 homeowners, nearly half the property values will increase while the other half will decrease, leaving many with questions.

County Executive Laura Curran said perpetual grievers are the ones seeing the biggest changes.

"We had half of the taxpayers basically subsidizing the other half who were underpaying," Curran said. "Half were underpaying, half were overpaying."

While the numbers may seem jarring, she says the old system was flawed. The reassessment was done to even the playing field.

"If we didn't do this now, the problem would've only gotten worse," she said. "The fix if it came two to three years later would've only been more painful."

But pain is what East Meadow resident Chris Murano said he feels when he pays the bills.

"It more than doubled in value and my house hasn't changed in god knows how many years," Murano said.

He attended a tax forum Tuesday afternoon with Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin.

"They've been changing letters and numbers and not really explaining to residents why they're doing it and that's why residents are lacking confidence in this endeavor," Clavin said.

Curran pointed out that just because your home was reassessed higher doesn't mean you're going to owe more in taxes. She has met with over 14,000 homeowners since December.

Curran is waiting on state approval under the Taxpayer Protection Plan to allow a five-year rollout of property assessments to help homeowners adjust.