By JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN

In a city where the real estate landscape is constantly evolving, assessing property tax values requires a unique skill set to meet market value and ensure consistency across the board.

The NYC Department of Finance (DOF) is the agency responsible for administering tax revenue laws of the city fairly, efficiently, and transparently to instill public confidence and encourage compliance. DOF employees responsible for visiting properties and assessing their tax value are titled City Assessors and are represented by Local 1757 NYC Assessors, Appraisers & Housing Development Specialists.

City Assessors oversee the valuation of approximately 1.1 million parcels within the five boroughs and support the single largest source of City revenue, which funds critical services like public schools, public safety services, sanitation, social services, and infrastructure projects.

Property sales occur throughout the year and the value of properties changes over time for a variety of reasons.  

The Cost of Attrition

Since March 2020, the number of City Assessors has decreased by 25%, which has troubling implications for the City’s tax revenue collections.

“Staffing at DOF has been at a crisis level and continues to decline,” said Candice Ficalora, President of Local 1757 and a City Assessor Level II. “Both retirements and resignations have outpaced any hiring efforts. With less and less staff, it’s difficult to train and retain talented assessors. The margin of error for potential loss of revenue is huge when your team is stretched thin.”

Inadequate staffing leaves assessors tasked with an insurmountable caseload. When staffing levels are low, the City relies more on computer systems that estimate values rather than sending an assessor to review for accuracy, which can be costly to the taxpayer and the City.

“I have twice the amount of properties in my portfolio due to my colleagues vacating their positions,” said Shanelle Washington, a Level I City Assessor. “We need to hire more assessors to relieve the burden on current staff.”

The lack of oversight on tax leases, hotels, billboards, and cell towers, and the under-assessment of new buildings and air rights are areas that could be better addressed with a fully staffed agency. Additional assessment staff would help recover uncollected revenue, and the potential increase from improved property assessments could then better support the funding of essential public services.