By GREGORY N. HEIRES

The head of the New York State Legislature’s property tax committee is intervening in a dispute at the city’s Dept. of Finance, where DC 37 has charged that staff cuts and inefficiencies have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

Assembly member Brian M. McLaughlin, chair of the Real Property Tax Committee, announced in May that he would conduct the inquiry into the city’s assessment system after the Legislature adjourns in June. Mr. McLaughlin’s decision came after several events called public attention to mismanagement:

• A campaign by Local 1757, Assessors, Appraisers and Housing Development Specialists. In recent weeks, the local has exposed, in City Council hearings and the press, how the Finance Department’s decision to let go 20 assessment personnel — Assistant City Assessors and City Assessors represented by the local — would lead to a $20 million loss in revenue.

• The resignation of Linda Yancey, former Assistant Commissioner of Property. In a resignation letter she sent to the City Council on April 22, Ms. Yancey charged that the city loses $1 billion a year because of short staffing and inefficiencies, including a faulty computer program used for assessing. She recommended that the department hire 100 new Assessors immediately.

• A DC 37 White Paper on the Dept. of Finance. The study reported that the city could save $3 billion by increasing its assessment and tax auditing staff, instituting a tax amnesty program, rescinding the layoffs and keeping two out-of-state tax collection offices that are slated to be closed.

Mr. McLaughlin told the Public Employee Press June 16 that the committee would conduct “roundtable discussions” including “all interested parties” into allegations of a wide-scale underestimate of property values. Mr. McLaughlin, DC 37 and Ms. Yancey aren’t alone in complaining about lost revenue. The Queens Civil Congress, an organization of business leaders, homeowners and public officials, estimates that the city has $1 billion worth of under-assessed properties. The QCC and the New York City Bar Association have both called for an overhaul of the assessment system.

“Any cuts to the assessing staff will only lead to a further erosion of the accuracy of the tax roll,” Local 1757 President David Moog testified May 27 at the City Council. “We will continue to shine a light on mismanagement because one of the best ways to protect our members’ jobs and taxpayer dollars is to promote good government,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

— Public Employee Press,
July 2003 issue.