Nassau residents express confusion over county's tax grievance response letters

Some Nassau residents who grieved their property taxes say they are confused about the responses they are getting from the county.
Jeff Gold, a Bellmore lawyer and former member of the Nassau County Board of Assessors, is spending much of his time reading through posts on the Facebook page he set up called "Nassau Grieve Your Tax Assessment."
"I've had people throw out the letters thinking they saved $50 or $100 when that $50 or $100 is actually $1,500," says Gold. 
He says the problem is the reduction listed in letters to grievers is not the actual dollar amount reduction, as many people think. Instead, that reduction number is just one part of the equation that gets you to the percentage that taxes will be reduced.
This year alone in Nassau County, about 216,000 homeowners grieved their taxes. Many of them received their notification letters from the county this week.
Wantagh resident Jeanine Picos says she and her fiance got their letter last weekend, but it took a few days to figure it out.  
"Nobody understands the numbers," she said. 
Picos said what she originally thought was a $45 return was actually $800. 
In a statement, the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission said the letter is simply meant to provide homeowners with their current assessment and an offer to settle at a lower assessment of the property.