Responding to a multimillion dollar property tax
corruption scandal, Local 1757 has proposed a major overhaul of
the city’s assessment administration.
“Fundamental changes are necessary to establish an equitable
taxation system and inhibit improper practices,” said Mathew
Joseph, president of Assessors, Appraisers & Mortgage Analysts
Local 1757. “Our recommendations would go a long way towards
correcting decades of neglect, mismanagement, malfeasance and revenue
loss.”
Local 1757 set up a committee to review assessment practices in
the wake of the arrest of 18 current and former tax assessors in
February. The assessors were charged with accepting more than $10
million in bribes over 35 years to reduce the assessments on nearly
600 properties.
The committee report, which Local 1757 sent to Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg, calls for significant staff increases in a restructured
assessment operation. To heighten professional standards, the local
recommends raising salaries, increasing promotional opportunities,
standardizing assessment procedures and making training mandatory.
Currently, City Assessors work under the direction of the chief
assessor at the Real Property Assessment Unit of the Finance Dept.
The report calls for the unit to function independently and for
the chief assessor to be a mayoral appointee, with direct accountability
to City Hall.
The report asks the city to again require assessors to swear before
a judge every year that they have seen all the properties assigned
to them. More than a decade ago, the oath was abolished, making
it easier for the city to downsize. Layoffs under the Dinkins administration
cut the ranks of assessors from 250 before 1991 to about 120 today.
“Accountability is a major theme throughout Local 1757’s
report,” said Stephanie Velez, director of the DC 37 Professional
Division. “Over the years, the Finance Dept. has reduced its
standards and relaxed its oversight. The union is promoting good
government practices so taxpayers can believe in the integrity of
the city’s assessment work.”
Other recommendations of the report include: