Curran vs GOP: Assessment and taxes (UPDATED)

                                                                               

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran at briefing today

Nassau Republicans still have yet to announce a candidate against Democratic County Executive Laura Curran, who is running for re-election this fall, but Curran and Republican Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin are continuing to square off against each other. And this time Oyster Bay joined in.

Curran started it today.

At a news briefing about vaccines for veterans at the Nassau University Medical Center, Curran said she also wanted to announce that she had directed the county's Department of Assessment "to open a new telephone hotline in response to misinformation that has been spread about property taxes and the assessment process. "

Curran said "This misinformation was delivered to residents' doorsteps in the form of numerous taxpayer  funded political style mailings that have been sent out by the towns of Oyster Bay and Hempstead."

(Oyster Bay and Hempstead are run by Republicans).

"I feel that our senior population has been specifically targeted by these mailings because some may lack access to the internet  and email to get accurate information about their property's assessment," she said.

Curran didn't say what the misinformation was. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for copies of these mailings.

But clearly, the mailings involved property tax hikes.

She said, " I want to be very clear, Nassau county did not raise property taxes. Since I took office three years ago, I have never once approved any property tax hikes."

Republicans have been referring to the "Curran tax" ever since Newsday reported in December that 65 percent of Nassau residents saw higher school tax bills as a result of Curran's 2018 reassessment.

Curran's representatives blamed school budgets for the tax increases, but Newsday's Scott Eider noted that all of Nassau's school districts had stayed within the two percent tax cap last year while overall school spending increased by just 1.8 percent, the lowest since 2015-16.

Since Newsday's report, numerous property owners have come forward to say their taxes have ballooned by thousands of dollars because assessment increases for new construction were not part of the phase-in of new values.

And though Curran denies approving any property tax hikes, both the county's financial control board and the legislature's independent office of budget review reported that Curran's budget for 2021 included "a tax levy increase" in the sewer fund of 3.5 percent.

Budget review also noted that besides the 3.5 percent sewer fund tax increase, there was an increase of $3.9 million in tax revenues for major funds due to "restoration of taxes" which essentially means properties that had not been on the tax roll had been restored to taxable status.

Clavin, who is also running for re-election this year,  has clashed with Curran over reassessment many times, since he was Hempstead's tax receiver and after he was elected town supervisor in 2019.

 

Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin

Clavin spokesman Greg Blower today responded to Curran's briefing. 

"The only person misleading taxpayers is Laura Curran. Despite her false claims of not hiking county taxes, Nassau's own independent Budget Review office exposed her $9 million tax hike this year, including her $5 million toilet tax hike on our sewers. She even had the nerve to veto the (Republican) legislature's attempt to erase her tax hikes."

Blower  added, "And she better put extra staff on the 'Laura Curran High Tax Hotline' to handle the calls from the 65 percent of Nassau homeowners who were slammed with the 'Laura Curran Reassessment Tax.'"

Town of Oyster Bay Spokesperson Marta Kane responded to Curran's allegations. "It’s time for the County to stop passing the buck and start owning up to the property tax hike, sewer tax hike and reassessment tax shift that impacted virtually every homeowner in Nassau County."

Kane added, "Rather than waste resources on a hotline that defends tax hikes, the County should focus their employees on better serving residents in need of a vaccine appointment." 

Curran ended her briefing by saying, "I encourage any senior or veteran who needs clarity or who has questions, please call our newly dessignated hotline: 516-571-4811. Please call, get the facts."