ROTTERDAM REASSESSMENT IS NOT A THING TO BE FEARED
The proposed Rotterdam reassessment has been receiving alot of negative publicity, but is not as bad as its opponents claim. In fact, it will even benefit many homeowners in the town of Rotterdam.
It is pure myth that everyone's taxes will go up. Assessment simply means that the Town wants to know how much your house is worth. Reassessment means the Town wants to update the information they have, so they currently know what your house is worth. Yes, assessed values for many houses will increase because the value of those houses has gone up (due to inflation or improvements or increased real estate values). However, that does not mean you will have to pay more money in taxes. The local government has a fixed amount of money they collect in the budget, so the amount stays the same. A higher assessed value just means that the government will take a lower percentage of the money you make. Therefore, the tax rate should actually decrease by quite a bit.
The general way that assessments work is that roughly one third of the population has lowered taxes, and another third notices no difference in the money they pay per year. This equals out inequalities in the system. A house bought 50 years ago for $12,000 would, if kept in good condition, be worth almost $100,000 today, yet in Rotterdam, that house would currently pay less in taxes than a house worth $50,000 because it was bought many years ago. The system of assessment was designed so that everyone would pay a percentage based on how much your house was worth, not to have people with more expensive houses or older houses to pay less then their share of taxes. The reassessment is simply going to set the amount of taxes each person pays back to an equal scale for everyone, based on the property and house value.
In addition, if the Town of Rotterdam doesn't reassess within a few years, it may soon be breaking the law. A bill currently proposed to the New York State legislature (Bill A00312) will require that houses be reassessed at least every five years. The Town has not reassessed in more than fifty years, and a study done by the firm Beebe, Grossman & Bergins, LLP says that the Town is currently missing out on more than $60,000 ($5 per unit of land) in governmental money that is given to Towns who have assessments that are up to date and 100% of what they would sell for. If the bill passes, the law requires that the Town reassess its property, and continue to do so at regular intervals. The state suggests every Town or county should mandate the aforementioned practices.
Finally, for those of you out there worried about losing your money or your houses, there may be help. Even if you're one of the 33% of homeowners whose taxes may go up, you may be eligible for tax exemptions ranging from 5% to 100%. Senior citizens, Veterans, the disabled, and those with low incomes are all provided for with special tax relief programs such as the STAR program, the Real Property Tax Exemption, and others. There are even exemptions for those who have solar power or windmills on their property. See the local assessor for more information on these and other exemptions.
Phone: (518)355-7363
