The Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, the Rockville Centre Union Free School District and the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District successfully intervened as Respondents, and objected to the relief requested by Legislator Roger Corbin. Without this intervention, the case would have been dismissed.

The Court addressed the narrow issue of whether the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL), as amended in 1974, superseded and annulled the County Guarantee contained in Section 6-26.0(b)(3)(c) of the Nassau County Administrative Code (NCAC).

The Court found that throughout its over 60 year history, this section of the NCAC has been traditionally interpreted to relieve school districts in Nassau County of liability for tax refunds resulting from erroneous assessments by the County. The highest court in New York State, the Court of Appeals, has interpreted the “unambiguous language” in the NCAC to place liability for the payment of tax refunds upon Nassau County. The Court of Appeals has also noted that such tax liability is “consistent with the statutory taxing scheme existing in Nassau County” under which the “County Board of Assessors exclusively prepares the assessment rolls for State, county, town, special district and school taxes."

The Court carefully considered the legislative history of the RPTL amendments, and, in what was a susbstantial victory for Nassau County School Districts, it found nothing in those amendments that could be construed to supersede the NCAC County Guarantee provision. Click here to read entire decision.


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