Nassau has a new acting assessor: Matthew Cronin (Updated with Blakeman statement)
An industrial and commercial assessor in Nassau County's assessment department has been been appointed the new acting County Assessor.
An email circulated around the county today from Matthew Cronin thanking the administration of Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Chief Deputy Arthur Walsh for his appointment as acting county assessor.
"My goal is to create a fair, accurate and transparent assessment process for the people of Nassau County," he wrote. "There's a lot of work to do ahead so we're hitting the ground running over here."
It was signed:
Newsday payroll records for Nassau show he started with the county in April, 2019.
The former acting county assessor, Robin Laveman, has been assigned to the county attorney's office, a Blakeman spokesperson said.
Laveman had served as chairman of the county's Assessment Review Commission under former Republican Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.
Although Laveman was also in charge of Mangano's mass settlement program, which was roundly criticized by county Democrats for skewing the tax rolls, former Nassau Democratic County Executive Laura Curran kept her on and gave her a raise.
Mangano froze assessment increases but his settlement program granted reductions to thousands of homeowners who challenged their assessments. The program reduced about $30 million in tax refunds that county had been paying annually but it shifted the tax burden onto homeowner who had not grieved their assessments, especially in minority communities.
Then Curran last year appointed Laveman acting assessor, replacing David Moog, who had overseen Curran's 2018 countywide reassessment.
But Republicans in control of the county legislature refused to make Laveman's position permanent, saying she lacked the credential required by the county charter.
Laveman's departure from assessment was rumored for weeks after a Democratic lawmaker complained that her appointment had expired.
In an April 19 letter to Blakeman, Legis. Debra Mule of Freeport noted that acting appointments can only last six months without the county legislature approving another six month extension.
Laveman's term, she wrote, expired April 11. No extension had been granted.
"Failure to immediately correct this lapse will specifically jeopardize the ability to correct assessment errors and deliver refunds to taxpayers who have been over-assessed," Mule wrote.
Then Democratic lawmakers put out a news release last week repeating Mule's concerns and noting she had not received a response.
Update: Blakeman said in a statement today that Cronin "joined the New York State Assessors Association in 2020 and successfully challenged the esteemed Institute of Assessing Officers (IAO) examination in a single round in April of 2020. After approval by the Institute’s Board, he took his oath and officially achieved his IAO designation in the Fall of 2020."
Blakeman concluded, "For far too long errors, mismanagement and secrecy have plagued the Department of Assessment. My administration is committed to restoring trust in the process and making Nassau’s assessments more accurate and fairer. I have full confidence that Matt will help to further that vision. I want to thank Robin Laveman for her service and wish her well in her new position.”
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