RE:
Saturday (8/26/2006) Meeting at the Boat House in Schroon Lake,
Featuring a speaker from ORPS, (Office of Real Property Services)
Reported
by, Stan March, SLTA Director
Folks, we would like to make one thing very clear, SLTA had nothing
to do sponsoring this meeting, which was originally scheduled for
Thursday PM, then switched to Saturday, AM. I did have a
lengthy discussion with both the scheduled speaker for Saturday, as well
as another individual based out of Albany.
I would like to summarize the information I received here,
some of which was very enlightening. Over the years, the Office of Real
Property Services (ORPS) has transitioned into an administrative branch
that provides "services" to the various towns in NY State. These
services include the production of tax bills, annual assessment rolls,
as well as the availability of using the New York Real Property
Assessment (computer) system. I inquired as to what role
ORPS plays in "certifying" the assessments that each town produces, and
how they can (as they have) posted on their website that towns,
including Schroon Lake, are assessed at 100% of value.
I pointed out that Schroon Lake is NOT assessed at 100% of value, and
that there are tremendous variations in assessment vs. sales prices.
Here is the official response: We do NOT spot check or verify
assessments on any one particular property. We look at the ENTIRE
TOWN AS A WHOLE and determine if the total assessed valuation is
consistent with what we believe the TOTAL assessed valuation is.
I suggested that a "rogue" assessor could pump up certain classes
of property, and deflate assessments of other classes of property,
and the total valuation of the town would fall into the State ORPS
estimated valuation, and that would then pass muster as 100% assessed
valuation. The consensus I received from two people agreed this is
possible, AND that there is no way that the State ORPS can identify this
issue, as they have less than one employee handling this issue PER
COUNTY IN NEW YORK!
So the bottom line is that ORPS is NOT going to ensure that our
local assessors are doing their job, and additionally, they stated that
they have NO LEGAL WAY to enforce assessments.
So what it boils down to is simple. We take the
responsibility and file law suits to prove the illegality and inequity
in our tax rolls. In addition, we need to explore every
possibility of criminal charges based on the actions of our elected and
appointed officials. Please note that we use the word "explore"
not "accuse". I expect the Saturday meeting to be a "non-meeting"
in that many will probably ask specific questions regarding their
situation, and the speaker who will be there, who impressed me as an
intelligent and honest individual, will hone in on what ORPS does, but
not be able to answer specific questions regarding what SLTA is all
about as it out of his agency responsibility.
Letter sent from Town Assessor
4/23/2007 to all Schroon Lake Taxpayers
(note page two, assessor's opinion,
sent at taxpayer's expense)
(scroll down for older reports)
Report:
8/30/2006
As the summer season comes to an end, the SLTA continues
its mission to bring about fair and equitable taxes for Schroon Lake
taxpayers.
Once again, we thank
those of you who have joined SLTA and pledged your financial support. We
have made great strides since the organization was created just two
months ago. We now have over 330 members. Also, over 120 people have
joined our Article 78 lawsuit which is being handled by the Beebe law
firm in Clifton Park. The purpose of the lawsuit is to force town
officials to agree to an independent revaluation of taxable properties.
We continue to receive input from taxpayers about inequitable
assessments.
Other items:
The town board sponsored a talk by John Stack, a state
agent from New York State’s Office of Real Property
Services (ORPS) on August 26th at the Boathouse. The purpose of the talk
was to explain how assessments and subsequent taxes are determined by
the state assessors. Also, mentioned were the remedies available to
taxpayers, including Article 78s. Among the more striking comments was
the fact that there are only 50 state agents for the entire state. Those
state agents rely on the aggregate numbers supplied by the local
municipal assessors to determine the state’s portion of the tax bill.
They are not equipped to look into individual claims; it is solely up to
the taxpayer to seek re-dress if they feel they are being unfairly
taxed. And, unfortunately, under New York State’s current laws, the only
remedy if the local assessor will not address the inequity is to sue in
small claims court; initiate an Article 7 and/or an Article 78.
Of note, Mr. Stack responded to a question from the
audience about whether new costly homes were driving up assessments and
taxes. He stated that a town like Schroon would be paying triple the
taxes if the newer homes and second home base were to disappear.
The Schroon School Board will be meeting on Tuesday,
September 12th at 7:30 at the School Library to solicit community input
for school improvements. Last year, an 18 million dollar
renovation was voted down. Neighboring Moriah has just secured
funding for their school renovation with charges to taxpayers of only
$500,000 although the overall budget is $7 million plus.
Last year, the School Board heard community input on a
repeated basis to have an independent firm assess current school needs
and usages. This has yet to be even considered. School
Superintendent Bonnewell quoted in the September 9th Times of Ti Article
said, “The first step was developing a master plan.” We believe
the first step is determining need; the second step is due diligence
concerning financial strategies. But at the town meeting, they have once
again jumped ahead to a meeting with an architectural group.
If you are able to attend this meeting, please do. We
stress again the need to be represented in these important issues.
We also reiterate the need to be heard with your vote –
in school as well as town issues. We address how to register to
vote on our website.
If you haven’t sent us a check (which will go towards the
lawsuit and mailings) please do so now – we have funds for the first
part of our lawsuit; we rely on our members to help us make taxes fair
in Schroon Lake.
Thank
you.
