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Tax Assessment & Condemnation Report

Category Archives: Assessors

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Update: NYSUT Makes Good On Litigation Threat

By Rebecca M. Speno on Posted in Assessments, Assessors, Exemptions, School Districts, Valuation

On February 19th, 2013, the New York State Teacher’s Union (NYSUT) made good on its threat to challenge Cuomo’s property tax cap on schools by commencing an action in Supreme Court. The lawsuit, spearheaded by a plaintiffs group composed of teachers, taxpayers, and even parents, alleges in a 50-page complaint how Cumo’s tax cap harms school districts that serve low-income areas (creates… Continue Reading

Op Ed from Syracuse’s Mayor, Stephanie Minor, Hints That RPTL Reform Is Needed

By Rebecca M. Speno on Posted in Assessments, Assessors, Exemptions, School Districts, Valuation

A recent New York Time’s Op Ed post on February 13, 2013 from City of Syracuse Mayor, Stephanie Minor, states that “the model of using property taxes to finance schools, police, fire, sanitation and other services is no longer sustainable.” For years, we have heard from assessors, attorneys and appraisers heavily involved in assessment litigation that NYS needs to find another way… Continue Reading

Counties Taking An Active Roll In Property Tax Appeals – Why It Has Taken So Long

By Rebecca M. Speno on Posted in Assessments, Assessors, Settlement

“The times they are a-changin’”. In our field, this is best evidenced by upstate New York counties taking an active roll in defending property tax assessment appeals. Although counties in upstate New York have no assessment function and generally are responsible for only a fraction of any property tax refunds owed, lately it seems as though counties feel like they have been hung out to dry (or so… Continue Reading

NY’s Only Women In (tax) Assessment Group Discusses the Politics of Revaluations

By Rebecca M. Speno on Posted in Assessments, Assessors

New York’s only group for women in the field of property valuation and property tax assessment met on November 14, 2012 to discuss the politics of town-wide property reassessments and revaluations. During the session, which was transmitted via video conferencing to several sites across New York State, assessors Heather Garner and Lezli Parsons, and Cayuga County… Continue Reading

Nassau Taxpayers Expecting Refunds May Have to Wait Until 2013 for Relief

By Kathleen M. Bennett on Posted in Assessments, Assessors, Settlement

On August 8, 2012 Nassau County filed a Notice of Appeal, which stayed Judge Thomas Adams’ Order that required the County to pay property tax refunds within 60 days, or risk having its bank accounts seized. While the County stated it filed the notice of appeal to preserve its rights, the appeal only prolongs the inevitable: the County must return to its… Continue Reading

Trimming the Tree of Knowledge: New York’s Reduction in Assessor Education Requirements

By Kathleen M. Bennett on Posted in Assessors, Valuation

Despite the objection of the New York State Assessor’s Association and many assessors across New York State, New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance (“DTF”) recently adopted a rule that reduced by half the number of required continuing education credit hours for assessors and county directors from 24 to 12 a year. See 9 NYCRR 188-2.8. The rule went into effect on… Continue Reading

Picking Up the Pieces: The Hurricane Irene & Tropical Storm Lee Assessment Relief Act

By Stuart Klein on Posted in Assessments, Assessors

The Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee Assessment Relief Act allows  taxing jurisdictions to provide relief to property owners that were “catastrophically impacted” (i.e., property that lost 50% or more of its value) by the aforementioned storms.  This Act is unique because it allows property owners to have their property reassessed on the 2011 assessment roll… Continue Reading