When property tax assessments go down, taxes go up. For the Somers Central School District, taxes will go up 5.59%, if settlements with NYSEG and the condo owners of Heritage Hills are approved by the state court. School Board members face tough choices after hearing a presentation by Assistant Superintendent of Business Kenneth Crowley at a recent Board meeting focused on revenues for the budget for next year. A link to the power point presentation,viewable in a web browser, is located here. The settlement have been in negotiation for about two years, according to news reports.
Total property assessments are expected to be down by $26 million, primarily from a $21 million settlement of a decade long dispute with Heritage Hills in Somers, NY. The NYSEG settlement will reduce the tax base by another $2.9 million. Other reductions will reduce assessments by about $2.4 million. Although condo owners at Heritage Hills will each get a refund of about $1500, their taxes will also go up as a result of reduction in assessed value. Still unresolved is a claim by Pepsi Bottling Group seeking a reduction in its assessments.
See these news articles for further information:
Somers schools to lose $26 million to tax assessment cases at NCNLocal.com, and
LINKS:
http://board-of-education.somersschools.org/modules/groups/group_pages.phtml?gid=2118090&nid=193996&sessionid=c5d8b073a64e5dff176faecccc2bae0e
http://ncnlocal.com/ncnlocal_news/article_579520c8-2979-11e0-9c81-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.lohud.com/article/20110202/NEWS02/102020328/Heritage-Hills-condo-owners-to-get-tax-refunds-21M-assessment-cut
Correct me if I'm wrong here but isn't it inaccurate to say that "taxes" will go up? What is going up is the "tax rate". In order for the town to collect the same taxes when the assessed values go down they have to raise the rate. Tax = Tax rate x Assessed Value
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I failed to account for the fact that the rest of us are not getting a lower assessment so in effect, yes, it would result in higher taxes.
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