Councilmember Asks For Audit Of DOF Computer 'Glitches'

When city news outlets, , reported last month that a computing 'glitch' was the cause of year-to-year property tax increases on Queens co-op and condo buildings — it may have been only part of the story. 

Rather than being a solitary event, the recent 'glitch' was one of "more than 100" errors made by the computing system that determines the taxable value of properties throughout the city, according to testimony given by city Department of Finance commissioner David Frankel at a City Council hearing on Monday.

It was that revelation, made during a session filled with pointed questions for Frankel by Queens elected officials, that prompted Councilman Mark Weprin, D-Oakland Gardens, to ask city Comptroller John Liu for an audit of the DOF's computing systems.

"Frankel didn't leave us with any confidence on how the system works," Weprin said. "All he left us with were more questions."

At the session attended by Weprin, Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, D-Manhattan, among others, Frankel pledged to cap assessment increases at 10 percent for co-op and condo buildings. 

However, Weprin said he wasn't satisfied with that proposal or with DOF's explanation of how tax increases of more than 100 percent were sent to cooperatives and condo associations at a time when property values have remained mostly flat.

"I want assurance that the system — which Frankel thinks is so great — is going to give us accurate numbers next year," he said. 

Representatives at the city Comptrollers office acknowledged that the request for an audit had been received.

Meanwhile, the deadline of May 25 for a final accounting of this fiscal year's property tax bill for buildings from Flushing to Little Neck crept ever closer.

“These changes in valuation methods have hit the residents of Queens especially hard," said Liu through a spokesman Wednesday afternoon. "Due to the systemic issues raised, the Audit Bureau has sent an audit engagement letter to the DOF today on this matter."