A Lesson In Assessing

The at its regular meeting Tuesday night validated some certiorari settlements, or payments to people who had grievances over their tax assessments. All of these settlements were made regarding what used to be the GC Volkswagon at 1 Jericho Turnpike.

Here's a rundown of the settlements according to Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro:

• For lots one through seven, the old assessment was $55,840, there was a reduction of $23,700, bringing the new assessment to $32,570.
• For lots eight through 10, the old assessment for $4,160, the reduction was $1,730, making a new assessment of $2,430.
• A settlement of $15,800 without interest will be paid to Gordon Evergreen, $7,400 of that will be payable on June 30,2011 and $8,800 will be payable on June 30, 2012.
• There are also reductions for lots one through six, which had an old assessment of $40,000 and a reduction of $15,000, bringing the new assessment to $25,000.
• For the settlement of $10,600 without interest to Gordon Carnation, Lofaro noted that $5,300 will be payable on June 30, 2011 and $5,300 will be payable on June 30, 2012.
• Lots 53 through 70 had an old assessment of $17,840, a reduction of $6,500 and a new assessment of $11,340. The settlement of $5,250 without interest to Gordon Evergreen will be payable by June 30,201.

After some audible responses from the audience of a half dozen people at the meeting, Lofaro explained what happened with these settlements.

"We are voting on a settlement that was basically done in court," he said. "We're just validating the efforts that our attorney did in court. But in all fairness to certiorari settlements, whether they be commercial or residential, if a person is being assessed higher than they should and paying more taxes than their neighbor, they should have the right to a reduction."

He added that many of these settlements are being pushed down from Nassau County.

"The whole process, even at the village level, has become really convoluded because of the problems on the County level," he said. "These certioraries begin at the County and find their way into the Village and a lot of the settlement is based on County numbers, not Village numbers," Lofaro said.

There are differences between how the Village of New Hyde Park and Nassau County do their assessments. "The way that we assess is not necessarily based on market value, but what it cost to construct that building at that time," Lofaro said.