The town of Mamaroneck”™s Board of Assessment Review has completed its townwide revaluations ”“ the first since 1968 ”“ and beginning July 1 continued its due diligence, initiating 13 separate meetings so board members can vet already-filed complaints among themselves.
On the June 1 grieving day, 1,300 residents sought relief from their new assessments, representing about 15 percent of town parcels. If, after the board”™s meetings, an assessed parcel”™s value is still disputed, the property owner can appeal via a Small Claims Assessment Review, for which no date has been established.
Commercial revaluation differs, since it is based on activities within a building and how much revenue those activities produce. The same square footage might generate $.5 million or $5 or $50 million in revenue and would be taxed accordingly.
Commercial grievances take a different route, with protests required to be filed in town hall by Oct. 15 for a so-called writ of certiorari hearing in municipal court.
The median price for a residence in the town was established at $990,000.
“It”™s a staggering figure,” said Stephen Altieri, the town manager. “But Westchester County is generally known for high real estate values. We”™re a half-hour from New York City and that is a huge advantage, plus we have excellent schools. Add employment possibilities and you have high property values.”
One-third of residences saw increases; one-third saw reductions; and one-third remained the same. “Believe it or not, some people are happy with their new assessments,” Altieri said.
The task of “ensuring equitable apportionment” via reassessment cost $1.3 million, or about $110 per parcel. The town contracted upstate-based GAR Associates Inc. for the job.
“There are people who are going to be unhappy with their assessment,” Altieri said. “But we are quite confident with the work GAR did.” He noted it is nearly impossible to obtain a private parcel”™s assessment for only $110.
Under guidelines established by the town, homeowners were granted amnesty for interior work that might have been performed without proper permits and need not pay a fee. They must, however, file (for free) a work permit form so the town knows what work has been performed, an emergency being the wrong time to tell officials they may have converted the basement into, say, a welding shop.
The initial property inventory survey was conducted in November and December 2011. The final assessment role is expected to be filed Sept. 15, with the new tax rates applied for the 2014 school tax bills. The New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services will monitor and eventually validate the assessment roll.
The town until now has been spending about $650,000 per year to defend its Lyndon B. Johnson-era valuations, Altieri said.
“This absolutely took too long ”“ from 1968 ”“ but there is so much political baggage that comes with a new assessment,” said Altieri. “The problem was that our data was so old the cost was indefensible to defend it.”
The village of Larchmont until two years ago relied upon the town of Mamaroneck for its assessments. It now has its own three-person assessment board and operates on its own schedule, completing its grievance process in February.
