Discussion of Carmel Property Reval Centers on Dollars and Sense

Throughout 2010, the Carmel Town Board discussed doing a property reassessment to bring the property rolls up to 100 percent of market value – a task that had not been undertaken since 1996. While a proposal went out seeking bids on how much it would cost to conduct the reassessment, no further action was ever taken to move forward on the proposal.

Last Wednesday night, after much discussion and research, Councilman Jonathan Schneider gave a presentation on moving forward with the reassessment, joined by Town Assessor Glenn Droese, Town Comptroller Mary Ann Maxwell and  John Wolham from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Service, all of whom said they believed now was a good time to do the reassessment, which will require the town to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for it.

While he said the town should wait until the housing market improved to do a reassessment just a few months ago at a Carmel Civic Association, Droese, who was hired by the town a year ago, said he had had more time to review data and study the market and had changed his mind.

Based on broad estimates from two years ago, Maxwell said the money borrowed for the reassessment would cost each household an additional estimated $12 annually over the course of  a five-year loan; a number that she said she anticipated would rise year-to-year if the reassessment was put off.

“In my opinion, now is the time to take on a project like this because the interest rates are so low,” she said.

Schneider explained that after a reassessment some may see their taxes go up, some may see no difference at all and some may see their taxes decline. He also said the reassessment was a revenue-neutral process, meaning it did not raise the total dollar amount of taxes collected, but that it was meant to bring equity, insofar as residents paying taxes on the full market value of their homes.

“Simply put, we will pay our fair share. Nothing less. Nothing more,” Schneider said.

Schneider said that he was concerned that the proposal for a reassessment from two years ago did not include the revaluing of the 100-plus properties in Carmel that are owned by New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection [NYCDEP]. He said a new proposal for bids would include the DEP properties.

Wolham said the state does offer some aid to conduct reassessments. While he believed Carmel would be eligible for the $5 per parcel state aid, he said the town would be required to conduct cyclical reassessments every few years to get the aid.

In order to conduct a reassessment and then maintain the property rolls at 100 percent valuation moving forward, Droese said additional full-time staff would be needed in the assessor’s office.

Droese said he worked for the Town Assessor’s office back in 1996 when there were 7,000 fewer parcels in town, and even with four employees, as opposed to today’s three, the office was overwhelmed by the workload during the reassessment.

Over the past two years, the town board has eliminated positions during the drafting of the annual budget in order to avoid raising taxes further, and, as was the case last year, to stay within the state-mandated two percent tax cap.

Town Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt wondered if temporary staff couldn’t be used to conduct the reassessment. Droese said that would not suffice to maintain the rolls and to keep the town from slipping back into the same situation following the 1996 reval.

Schmitt asked the town comptroller for an estimate on how much it would cost the town annually to hire two new workers for the assessor’s office. Maxwell said, with salaries and benefits, it could run the town anywhere from $250,000 to $300,000 annually.

Schmitt and Councilman Frank Lombardi said they believed a reassessment needed to be done, but questioned if there was a better time to do it.

Councilman John Lupinacci said he disagreed.

“It is the right thing to do. It is necessary….everyone is indicating now is the time,” Lupinacci said of immediately moving forward with a reval.

Lupinacci said he had great concerns about the taxpayers in the Hamlet of Carmel, which shares a school district with six other towns that have all conducted reassessments to go to 100 percent market value in recent years.

“They are paying their unfair share. They are right now…paying more than other neighboring towns,” Lupinacci said.

Carmel Civic Association President Frank Chianca said the Hamlet of Carmel residents paid double the rate of taxes as the Carmel school district residents who live in other town because of the equalization rate that he believed was based on flawed, out-dated data, causing the disparity.

Carmel Central School District Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Eric Stark also was at the meeting and he said he believed a reassessment in Carmel would bring greater equity to the hamlet residents who live in the Carmel school district.

Mahopac resident Michael Barile spoke during public comments, too.

“I want to address the 800-pound elephant in the room,” Barile said. “It’s a sensitive issue, but it’s obvious…to the entire town.”

Barile went on to say that 20 years ago the NYCDEP had just been newly formed and today, “the City of New York has become….the largest land owner in our town.”

Offering an example as to why he believed the NYCDEP should be included in a reassessment, Barile said his one-acre commercial property had just been reassessed after improvements and he now will pay $45,000 in taxes annually on it. In comparison, he said, a six-acre plot in a prime location on Route 6 that is owned by the NYCDEP brings in $13,000 in taxes; but Barile said he believed on the market value of the property, it should be generating $100,000 in taxes for the town.

“I want the City of New York to pay its fair share,” Barile said.

Although Schneider said he would work with Town Counsel Gregory Folchetti to draft a request for proposals to conduct a reassessment, the members of the town board said they would review the bids that are received before deciding on whether or not to move forward with a reassessment

Schneider said he was broaching the topic now, as it was the beginning of budget season, in addition to the fact that interest rates on borrowing currently are at a benchmark low.

Droese explained if the process began soon, the first time property owners would see the impact of the reassessment on their tax bills would be in September of 2015.

Droese said if the process began now the impact of the reassessment wouldn’t be reflected on tax bills until the fall of 2015

“It will be 20 years by the time this is done,” Droese said of the town not conducting a reassessment since 1996.