Nassau county taxpayers may still have to pay an annual bill of $ 22.8 million for ineligible residents who claim a veteran property tax exemption after the county Department of Assessment fails to complete the recommended actions implemented that according to an episode of the 21st up audit report.
In 2019, a third party audit found that, from 2013 to 2018, more than 8,400 of the county’s veterans’ requests for property tax exemption – or 18 percent of the total – under previous auditor George Maragos with “military service data that was unrealistic, incomplete or were contradicting, “which resulted in the removal of $ 774 million in taxable market value.
The auditors recommended that the county update the information it has gathered, add fields to new applications, train staff, periodically review death records, and review any exceptions – not just veterans – that do not require annual recertification. Two years later, County Comptroller Jack Schnirman reports that “measurable progress” has been made, but the follow-up review shows that all but one of the recommendations have not been fully implemented.
Veteran’s exemption laws usually require that the owner of a primary residence be a veteran, surviving unmarried spouse, or in some cases surviving family member in order to receive an exemption that ranges from 5 to 15 percent of the property valuation, with some exceptions, to Nassau County.
The 2019 audit found that the lack of quality control was due to the taxpayer being given the responsibility to report disqualifying events that would nullify the exemption, which by law does not require annual recertification. If a veteran or dependent moves or dies and the home is then occupied by ineligible people, the package could be exempted for years under current controls.
Among the results of the 2019 review, the auditors identified 8,289 exemption requests for which no military service dates were listed; 101 showed the service began before 1929, which would make veterans 101 to 133 years old; and 20 said service started in 2020, which would be impossible for an exemption filed in 2016.
The 2021 follow-up report dealt with the exemptions for veterans as well as other property valuation issues such as the ADAPT system, privately owned clergy and management accountability. Of a total of 31 recommendations, 15 were implemented, 14 are being processed and two are not implemented.
The Department of Assessment has agreed to review all existing Veteran Exemption dossiers in three steps, beginning May 1st and ending September 30th last year. The department sent letters requesting supporting material to the 8,289 applicants named on the exam and received 5,887 responses. The officials were then able to delete 100 exceptions. However, there has been no update since August 6th.
Additionally, the department accessed death records on January 14, 2020 to remove exceptions for deceased applicants, but those files did not contain enough information to make decisions.
Although department officials said they would review veterans’ exception files, they did not address a system-wide review process for all exceptions that do not require annual recertification. The target date for the implementation of such a comprehensive system, September 30, 2020, was not met.
The auditors reiterated the importance of such a system-wide review as it covers other problematic exceptions and would address the problem at the root.
The department implemented a request to train staff to process exception requests. Officials offered specific training to employees in 2019, a curriculum on the subject for all new and existing employees, and operating procedures for auditors.
Eventually, the Board of Auditors found that the Department of Exemption Requests from prospective veterans did not need to request social security numbers and birth dates because they did not have these state forms.
Some residents of the county are confused about how the veteran exemptions work. Baldwin resident Zoe Tague asked, “Don’t you have to show proof of service?”
Meanwhile, other residents are concerned the county hasn’t fixed the problem, including Maggie Conaty Eberhart, who said it was “ridiculous when the county isn’t on top”.