NIFA accuses Nassau officials of dodging repeated requests for meetings for audit of assessment system

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority on Tuesday warned county officials to comply with an audit of Nassau’s tax assessment system after they dodged several meeting requests for months.

The state-backed fiscal watchdog group unanimously passed a resolution demanding the Nassau Department of Assessment and Assessment Review Commission — which sets the rolls and settles appeals — meet with independent auditors hired by NIFA to determine whether the property tax rolls for homeowners are “accurate and equitable.”

The county’s lack of cooperation, NIFA said, has delayed the audit that could ultimately help Nassau homeowners benefit from a more fair system. The current assessment system, characterized by NIFA as “broken,” relies on tax rolls that have been frozen for years. Each year, hundreds of thousands of homeowners dispute the county’s value assessment of their home in hopes of lowering their tax bills. The system shifts a tax burden from those who file appeals to those who don’t, experts have told Newsday.

During Tuesday's meeting NIFA Executive Director John Chiara described the county's assessment system as "one of the fundamental pillars of how the county finances itself," and a matter that "directly relates" to NIFA's oversight.

"The property assessment system affects virtually every Nassau County taxpayer and serves as a cornerstone of the County's fiscal health," Chiara wrote in a statement to Newsday. "This audit is intended to provide an independent, objective review of the assessment process, including whether that process is being administered fairly and equitably, and to identify any issues that may warrant corrective action."

Under NIFA’s statute, if the county doesn’t comply with an audit, officials could be subject to penalties. Specific county employees could be suspended or fired at the hands of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who appoints the group’s board members.

NIFA could also refer officials to the New York Attorney General’s Office or Nassau district attorney to investigate a possible misdemeanor crime.

But NIFA executives said they don’t want to reach that point, instead focusing on getting the county to be a willing party.

"I believe a strong working relationship and open lines of communication between NIFA and County leadership are essential to serving the residents and taxpayers of Nassau County," newly appointed NIFA Chairman Mohsin Meghji wrote in a statement to Newsday. "That's why, shortly after my appointment as Chairman, I reached out to County Executive [Bruce] Blakeman to request a meeting. I look forward to sitting down with him to discuss the issues facing the County and how we can work together as NIFA continues to discharge its statutory oversight responsibilities."

Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, said in a statement to Newsday the office is "doing everything that is required by the law considering the parameters of the jurisdiction of NIFA.” 

Blakeman is running against Hochul in her re-election bid in November.

After launching the audit in January, NIFA hired private accounting firm EFPR to review Nassau’s tax assessment system. On April 6, the firm sent a letter to the DOA and ARC requesting an introductory conference call.

The ARC agreed to a meeting on April 20, but indefinitely postponed it that day, according to NIFA. The postponement came a week and a half after Blakeman held a news conference declaring NIFA had no oversight over county finances. 

On May 7, the accounting firm sent a letter to Joseph Adamo, Nassau’s assessor at the DOA, and ARC chair and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria, saying it was “imperative” to begin the audit immediately. Neither one responded to the letter, NIFA said.

On June 11, the firm emailed Adamo and Bucaria asking again to schedule an introductory conference call, and neither replied, according to NIFA.

On July 10, Chiara sent a letter to Nassau’s D deputy county executive, Arthur Walsh, requesting a meeting between Meghji and County Executive Blakeman. A meeting was scheduled for Aug. 4.

NIFA passed the resolution Tuesday putting Adamo and Bucaria on notice. An order demanding their compliance with the audit will take effect on Aug. 7 at 5 p.m., several days after the scheduled Aug. 4 meeting. Meghji could rescind the order depending on the outcome of the meeting, the resolution states.

The county’s tax assessment system for years has drawn ire from NIFA. Experts previously told Newsday that as home prices continue to rise, the county’s tax rolls — which have been frozen for six consecutive years — lag behind current market home values. About 80% of Nassau homeowners who contested their property assessments in 2024 won settlements, Newsday reported.

In May, the median price of a single-family Nassau home hit a record high of $890,000.

The county is also in the throes of an ongoing $1.7 billion lawsuit filed by the former Hempstead Village mayor and other homeowners who alleged the tax system unfairly assessed minority-owned homes. The case was transferred to Queens after an appeals court said a Nassau jury would not be impartial.