The dry and dusty world of finance takes on meaning when Hilda Vera talks about her job as an Assistant City Assessor. She works for the Finance Dept. in the Incentive Commercial Industrial Program. “My job is to stop the city from giving money away,” she said. To do her job, Ms. Vera reviews owners’ renovation plans and applications for exemptions to make sure the city gets the right amount of taxes.

With almost 20 years of experience as an assessor, Ms. Vera is well versed in the specialized skills of her field. Before ICIP, she worked as a field assessor for commercial and residential properties, determining the value of new properties and alterations in Sea Gate, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach. “The last year I worked in Brooklyn, there were over 150 alterations,” she says.

Despite the high demand for their services, the city has targeted 29 assessors and assistant assessors for layoffs. On top of the 30 assessors who have retired or resigned over the past year, this adds up to a 46 percent staff cut.

“We’re a revenue-making agency,” noted Ms. Vera, “but they are targeting our title. Under Mayor Giuliani, there were a lot of giveaways. Now, because we lack the staff, a lot of alterations will be missed. We’ve already lost a lot of revenue,” she says.

As the treasurer of Assessors, Appraisers and Mortgage Analysts Local 1757, Ms. Vera is working to turn the situation around. Local 1757 President David Moog has been trying to educate the City Council about the inevitable loss in tax revenue if the layoffs take place. The local testified at a hearing that the loss from missed alterations was conservatively estimated at $25 million to $50 million dollars. In a letter to Council member Saul Weprin, President Moog noted that the staff assesses 980,000 parcels of land and buildings. “Less than a dozen properties under-assessed would cost the city more than the $2 million saved by this layoff,” he wrote.

As a single mother, Hilda Vera worries about her own situation and that of her co-workers. “There are other single parents in the group, some with young children,” she notes. “We are all showing up for the rally on April 29 — definitely. I’m trying to stay positive,” she said, with tears sliding down her cheeks.

— JL