"Nassau County - Long Island, New York"

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos said that the County payouts for property tax refunds ballooned to $114.4 million in 2009 and may rise further when all the settlements are in. This is up from $98.8 million in 2008.

"During these dire economic times the County can not afford to have inaccurate property tax assessments resulting in over $114 million in certiorari refunds,” Comptroller Maragos said. “The problem has now reached alarming levels and needs to be fixed immediately.”

Comptroller Maragos has commenced a comprehensive operational and financial audit of the Department of Assessment and all other county departments involved with the tax assessment issue to determine where the system is failing. Furthermore, an Advisory Committee, of both County specialists and outside independent experts, was created and is working to develop recommendations on fixing the Tax Assessment System. Their report is expected to be submitted to the Comptroller by the end of March. The Comptroller’s recommendations will be submitted to the County Executive for action.

Maragos: Tax Assessment Problem Balloons to Over $114 Million