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Re-evaluation

On the Town GUESTBOOK, JM noted an article re: AVA, NY.... Here is an article and they too were able to roll back their assessment roll to 2009.... below is an article covering their controversial 2010 revaluation -- sounds like Brookfield all over again.... and their taxable status date is March 1.... like Brookfield's..... why is our roll back "illegal" and Ava's and Paris's is not????? We'll be looking forward to an answer Monday night.

March 23, 2010 - Rome Sentinel
by dan guzewich Staff writer
AVA — Property assessments — a big controversy in Oneida County’s smallest town — won’t be changing this year. "The revaluation plan is on hold and we will revert to 2009 assessment rolls by decision of the town board," said town Assessor Stephen J. Hunter today.
He and the town board heard numerous complaints last night about new proposed higher assessments Monday night when residents filled the town hall to speak out about the property revaluation project. The special meeting was called for the sole purpose to hear comments about the revaluation.
"The place was packed," Hunter said. "The sense of the crowd was understood by the town board." He estimates that as many as 20 people may have spoken.
The revaluation project was supposed to correct decades of over- and under-assessments on the town’s 540 parcels. A contractor was hired to review the properties and recommend new valuations.
"Property values were determined to be too high in relationship to surrounding communities," Hunter said.
He said he will spend this year reviewing the parcels and their values with the expectation that changes will be made to the assessment roll a year from now.
He said in general, one third of the properties went up in value, one-third stayed the same and one-third went down, under the revaluation done by Yancey Associates. "The problem is that those (parcels) that went up went up way more than I expected," Hunter said.
He said as he reviews the parcels, he’ll be paying special attention to the land use category. Tillable land is considered the most valuable and the wetland designation is the least. In-between categories are woodland and pasture.

April 2, 2010

To:  John Salka, Town Supervisor
Town of Brookfiled Board Members
Sherry Kabana, Town Clerk
Town of Brookfield Residents

RE:  Town of Brookfield Special Board Meeting


As I am unable to attend April 3rds board meeting, do to the work load I have yet to complete on the revaluation, I wish to request that this letter be read at that meeting.

To all of those residents that have submitted requests for information by mail, or to have their values reviewed, I will begin that process today.  I have just completed informal review meetings this past Tuesday, and over the course of the next few weeks will complete the mail in responses.  You will then receive a second notice of assessment which will contain information on the grievance process and days and hours that I will be available in May to meet with you, should you wish to do so.

I would also like to address some of the miss information that seems to abound around the town and on the internet.  First and foremost, no one has received special treatment during this project.  If someone's assessment seems wrong, it would possibly be do to an error on the file, not special treatment.  As I always do, I encourage anyone who suspects and error, to bring it to my attention, so that I may investigate it.  This policy is not in place just during a revaluation year, but at any time.

Next, to those residents that seem to think that I am unfamiliar with the town of Brookfield.  I have been your assessor for 13 years.  I was hired by DON LEWIS and the town board that was in place in 1997.  At that time it was decided, amid allegations that the then town residents, that were the assessors at that time, may have been  giving friends and family special attention during the valuation process.  I have no way of knowing if that was true or not at the time, but  I can assure you that that practice has NEVER happened in my years there.  I have been on every road, including the truck trails in the town.  I have viewed every residence in the entire town.  I would ask how many life time residents of the town can make that same claim?  I see every deed and survey map filed for the town.  I review every sale.  How many of you can say that?  I know your town better then the one I live in myself.

I would also like to point out that I am a town employee, not a politician.  I cannot vote in the town of Brookfield and therefore cannot help set the tax rates in your town.  I was simply hired to do a job, which I continue to do to the highest standards.  The current  project was first agreed to in December, 2008 and voted on in all four towns, in early 2009.  I have been working on the project since last August and will finally have it completed, July 1, 2010.  To those that think that I wanted all of the extra work and long endless hours it took to complete it, nothing could be farther from the truth.  My job is much easier in the years that all I have to do is check on building permits and process exemption forms.  At the same time, I do truly believe that it was  necessary.  For those town residents that are seeing a decrease or remaining the same in their assessments and therefore will see a reduction in their taxes, it is the only fair thing to do. As many of you always say, you just want to pay your fair share.

In closing, I would like to implore the town board to remember that they represent all of the residents of the town of Brookfield, not just the same minority that seem to have the loudest voices.  I have spoken with different  town residents, from different parts of the town, who have called me for the sole purpose of offering their support and telling me to hang in there!!  I was appalled to find out that the reason they were not willing to speak up, was for fear of retaliation from other town residents.  So, I will speak for them, remember those residents who deserve your representation, just as much as the loudest, most outspoken residents.


Respectfully,


Rhonda Weigand
Town Assessor   

FYI – In preparation for the SPECIAL BOARD MEETING on
SATURDAY – APRIL 3 – 9:00 AM Brookfield Town Hall
Below is a copy of the 2006 Town Board Resolution authorizing the Coordinated Assessment Program Agreement which will be discussed at that meeting. Opponents of the 2010 Revaluation are seeking to roll back the revaluation to the 2009 Assessments levels due to inequalities in assessment and economic uncertainty already pending due to the NY State Budget Crisis. Please be sure to attend.
COORDINATED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM WITH THE TOWNS OF
FENNER, SMITHFIELD AND NELSON
December 11, 2006 TOWN BOARD MEETING
RESOLUTION NO. 67 AUTHORIZING THE FORMATION OF A COORDINATED ASSESSEMENT PROGRAM BETWEEN THE TOWNS OF FENNER, SMITHFIELD, NELSON AND BROOKFIELD
WHEREAS, on December 11, 2006, the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield in Madison County entered into a municipal cooperative agreement to appoint one assessor to hold office in those Townships pursuant to section 576 and 579 of the Real Property Tax Law and article 5-G of the General Municipal Law, which is ongoing and is not altered by this resolution; and
WHEREAS, The Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield subsequently entered into an additional Coordinated Assessment Agreement pursuant to section 579 of the Real Property Tax Law on December 11, 2006 in order to maintain a uniform level of assessment between their four towns and within the County of Madison following the completion of their concurrent town-wide revaluation; and
WHEREAS, the appointed assessor has just completed concurrent town-wide revaluation of the Town of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield, and these four towns wish to maintain a uniform level of assessment between themselves and within the County of Madison; and
WHEREAS, it is the intention of the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield to create a similar coordinated assessment program pursuant to section 579 of the Real Property Tax Law, whereby the assessor will provide assessment services for the four towns in this coordinated assessment program and the assessor will assess all property within these four towns at a uniform percentage of full value;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that pursuant to section 579 of the Real Property Tax Law, the Supervisor of the Town of Brookfield is hereby empowered to enter into a Coordinated Assessment Agreement with the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield and Nelson beginning with the 2008 assessment roll.
Motion by: Head
Seconded by: Jaquay
Vote of Board: Ayes (5) Cowen, Jaquay, Head, O’Brien, Corbin
Nays (0)
RESOLUTION NO. 68 AGREEMENT FOR COORDINATED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM WITH THE TOWNS OF FENNER, SMITHFIELD AND NELSON
THIS AGREEMENT is made this day of December 11, 2006 and between the Town of Brookfield, County of Madison, party of the first part, a municipal corporation as defined by section 119-n of the General Municipal Law, and the Towns of Smithfield, Fenner and Nelson, County of Madison, party of the second part, all municipal corporations as defined by said statute.
WHEREAS, These four towns are empowered to enter into a municipal cooperative agreement to appoint one assessor to hold office in the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield pursuant to Section 576 and 579 of the Real Property Tax Law and Article 5-G of the General Municipal Law; and
WHEREAS, The intention of the parties is to create a coordinated assessment program pursuant to Section 579 of the Real Property Tax Law, whereby one assessor will provide assessment services for all towns in the coordinated assessment program and the assessor will assess all property in the program at a uniform percentage of full value;
THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield, of the County of Madison, agree to jointly conduct interviews of persons seeking the office of assessor. The appointment of the assessor must be approved by a majority of each of the town boards within sixty days of the effective date of this agreement. The person appointed as assessor must satisfy the minimum qualification standards for real property assessors established by the State Board of Real Property Services.
2. The assessor shall be responsible for assessing all parcels of real property located in the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield for the purposes of taxation and special ad volorem levies for town, county, special district, school district and, if applicable village purposes. The assessor shall also perform for the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield all other duties as required for assessors by the Real Property Tax Law and the rules of the State Board of Real Property Services. All real property shall be assessed at the same uniform percentage of market value in all of the assessing units participating in the agreement throughout the term of the agreement. Such percentage of market value shall be annually printed on the tentative assessment rolls for the participating assessing units.
3. The dates applicable to the assessment process in each participating assessing unit, including taxable status date, and the date for the filing of the tentative and the final assessment rolls, shall be the same for each assessing unit participating in this coordinated assessment program.
4. The assessor for all purposes be deemed an employee of the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield and each shall pay the assessor’s salary and make employer’s contributions for retirement, social security, workers compensation and other similar benefits as done in years previous to this agreement. This entails four separate salaries paid by each town to the assessor directly. This amount is to be reviewed by each town board separately from the others and each town board shall be able to approve changes as they may be deemed necessary. Cost for equipment, such as computer maintenance, new purchases etc. will be equally divided between the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield.
5. This agreement may be amended, modified or terminated in the manner provided by law.
6. Upon failure of the Town Boards of the Towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield to settle disputes or disagreements arising between themselves as to the provisions of this agreement, including the failure of one of the parties to pay its share of the costs and expenses incurred under this agreement within six (6) months of the date said payment is due, or the performance of the assessor, such disputes or disagreements shall be submitted to binding arbitration by four (4) disinterested individuals, one to be selected by each of the Town Boards of the towns of Fenner, Smithfield, Nelson and Brookfield and one to be selected by the first four chosen. The arbitration process shall be conducted pursuant to the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of New York concerning arbitration.
7. In the event that the appointed assessor shall resign or otherwise be unable to remain in office, the parties agree that a single individual shall be appointed in all participating assessing units within sixty days of such resignation or removal.
8. This agreement must be approved by a majority vote of the voting strength of the Town Board of each Town. If so approved, this agreement shall take effect on January 1, 2008 and shall remain in effect until a participating assessing unit duly withdraws from the agreement. A copy of this agreement shall be filed with the State Board of Real Property Services on or before the taxable status date of the first assessment roll to which it is to apply.
9. A town may withdraw from the Coordinated Assessment Program established by this agreement if its Town Board adopts a local law or resolution so providing, approved by a majority vote of the voting strength of the Town Board, at least six months before the withdrawal is to be effective. In the event that State aid pursuant to RPTL, 1573(3) has been received, such town agrees to indemnify and hold the other town(s) harmless for any losses of State aid sustained due to its withdrawal.
Motion by: Cowen
Second by: Jaquay
Vote of Board: AYES (5) Cowen, O’Brien, Head, Jaquay, Corbin
NAYS (0)

Protesters Want Brookfield Town Board to Toss Assessments…and Assessor
Martha E. Conway
(Brookfield – March 27, 2010) Someone with the screen name “Taxed to Death” suggested last week on the town of Brookfield web site’s guest book that residents ought to protest their assessments. Word spread through the community, and about 75 Brookfield residents – who reported hikes in assessment of anywhere from 30 to 50-plus percent – gathered up signs and marched on town hall Saturday.
“No more taxes,” the crowd chanted, carrying signs that read “To Hell With Albany,” “We the People Have No More to Give,” “Born Free – Taxed to Death” and “$30k to $60k – No Way,” as they marched toward the Brookfield Historical Society building on Skaneateles Turnpike, back toward the Beaver Den diner, crossing Beaver Creek Road winding up back in front of the court entrance of the town building.
Supervisor John Salka (R,C,I) opened the courtroom to give people a place to warm up, set up a microphone and speaker, and welcomed the crowd, thanking them for taking action to effect positive change.
“Government – town government, state government – it belongs to the people,” Salka said, explaining that the people need to express their will to the government in a productive manner and stop what he described as a whittling away of the rights of citizens.
Salka said people are scared for their jobs, financial stability, future prospects and quality life and fed up with Washington bureaucrats and Albany legislators who are far removed from the problems faced by a large proportion of their constituents.
During a recent visit to Albany, Salka said he visited the office of an elected official from the Bronx – a member of the agriculture committee – who listened to a farmer expressing concern about milk prices.
“She asked, ‘What’s wrong with the price of milk?’” Salka said, explaining that people like this who have no understanding of what is going on are making decisions about people’s futures and livelihoods. “The system’s out of touch.”
“Why does our assessor live in Hastings and not Brookfield?” asked protester Fred Jones. “She doesn’t know the area or the properties. I don’t know why we don’t get an assessor who knows the area. We live in a farming community. We all know the price of milk and the cost of equipment.”
Jones said residents won’t be able to keep up with the pace of such tax hikes.
“We will be forced out of Brookfield,” Jones said, explaining that people can no longer afford to maintain their homes or replace their equipment. “What are we going to do as a country when we no longer can feed ourselves?”
Councilman Dewitt Head said the reason the town agreed to undertake revaluation was to make sure people were paying their fair share of taxes.
“The reason you try to attain 100-percent valuation is parity,” Head said. “Those who are under-assessed should be raised a little, and those who are over-assessed should be lowered a bit. There was no parity here. It’s not even close to right. There are pictures on the [Office of Real Property Services web site] of houses that burned 30 years ago.”
Head’s assessment rose from $71,000 for his 1969-built split level to $102,000 this year. Councilwoman Rachel Owens, whose assessment jumped more than 50 percent, said she, too, shared Head’s experiences with burned-out buildings with excessive assessments listed online.
“My property was assessed at $78,500,” Owens said of her 62 acres with seven-room home, built in the 1940s. “Now it is $120,300. I support the revaluation process, but this is not the right time and not the right way.”
She said the end result has to be more equitable.
“We need to address it, and we will take the information [collected at the protest] back and re-discuss this as a board,” Owens said. “We need a better reassessment for our residents.”
Resident Steve Walker, one of the organizers of the event, circulated petitions to try and get the assessments thrown out. Another resident, Honna Bowen, told town board members present they should stop talking about how bad the revaluations are and take action.
“Take a vote,” Bowen said. “The did it in Paris. Stop it today. Vote to rescind this or hold it in abeyance.”
Supervisor Roger Bradstreet (D – Nelson), whose town is part of the same Coordinated Assessment Program – or CAP – with Brookfield, Fenner and Smithfield, attended the protest, as well.
“I want to say there are four towns going through this right now,” Bradstreet said.
Bradstreet said he owns 82 acres in Nelson that is farmed – some by himself as a hobby, and some by another farmer. He said he feels his property was assessed badly, and he has grieved it. Bradstreet said he didn’t feel his farm could be compared to a 500-acre farming operation, and if such an incomparable assessment is made, it has to be adjusted.
“I haven’t gotten the results yes, but if I don’t like them when I do, I will grieve again and again,” Bradstreet said, explaining the process.
“I’m not going to defend the assessor,” Bradstreet said. “I’m pretty new at this. I just started in January. If it were a perfect world, we probably wouldn’t be here today. We were at 80 percent for awhile, so it was a jump for us. You were at 100, then 80, then 100, so you’ve been on a rollercoaster.”
He urged people to go through the process to make sure assessments are as fair as possible.
“I also want to tell you that John does an excellent job representing you in Wampsville,” Bradstreet said. “John has become something of a role model for me. He has gotten the southern supervisors together to talk about things that affect us differently.”
Salka said when he opened the letter with his new assessment, he felt the pain everyone else is feeling – his was the second 50-percent jump in a row.
“My assessments have tripled,” Salka said, adding that it was the thanks he got for rehabilitating a home that was falling into the ground and putting it back on tax rolls. “I’m lucky. At least I have earning potential. But what about in the future when I’m on a fixed income like many here are now and I get a notice that my taxes will go up $300 next year? This is something the town board is going to address with all seriousness. Action will be taken. I don’t live in a big fancy house and get a cut in my taxes.”
Salka said the Brookfield Town Council would hold a special meeting this week to address the issue and would provide notice to the press and public as soon as the rest of the town council was available.


A Letter from the Supervisor about the Upcoming Re-evaluation
In a short time, probably around mid February, property owners in the Town of Brookfield will receive notification of the results of the town wide re-evaluation that is being done. This reassessment of our community stands to be one of the most important developments that we have seen in several years, and, undoubtedly there will be strong feelings about its nature and its intent.
     I would like to take this opportunity to explain to our taxpayers a bit of the history behind this effort, and to make sure that all the facts are known so that the people of the town of Brookfield have a clear picture as to why this may affect them and their property values.

     In June of 2006 Brookfield entered into an agreement with the town of Smithfield to share its assessor and to maintain a uniform level of assessment in their communities. In December of that same year the towns of Fenner and Nelson were added. The group entered into a partnership called a Coordinated Assessment Program, or CAP, which allows for them to share an assessor who will then re-evaluate all property within the four towns at a uniform percentage of full value. In other words, the four towns will share equalization rates, assessor and re-evaluation schedules.

     Additionally, in January of 2006, the Brookfield town board unanimously passed a resolution to enter into a tri-annual assessment program beginning with the 2007 assessment roll. A reassessment was done then, with considerable impact to the town. This means that we are committed to a re-evaluation every three years, and that is the cycle that we are in right now. This is the law; this is what we are following.

     In the spring of 2009, the board held a series of town hall meetings to discuss whether or not we should continue our membership in the CAP. This would require returning a considerable amount of money that we received from the state as an incentive for joining the CAP. We had already received our notice that the state was dropping our equalization rate as they did with the other towns in the CAP, so that die was cast.  This lower equalization rate effects how much we have to meet our budget. A lower rate means less to work with. In our case it dropped from 89% to 80%, like the other towns in the CAP. Considering the impact of returning these funds, the lower equalization rate, and input that we received from the public at these meetings, the board decided to go ahead with the reassessment.

     It was a decision made from necessity, not practicality
     So, for the past several months, our assessor has been busy taking a look at each and every parcel in the town of Brookfield, and determining an updated value of that property. This may result in an increase, decrease or no change whatsoever in the assessment of a piece of land, and will be based on the market value of the property, whether or not any improvements were done, or whether that property is actually undervalued.  

     According to recent sales figures property in our town has been selling at a “brisk” rate, and for higher than average prices. This inevitably has an effect on local property values, and there is very little that can be done about it. If a private landowner wishes to sell their land to whomever, the town has no legal authority to stop it. Private business deals should not be dictated by government. Call it a double edged sword if you will. Brookfield is a great place to live, and people want to move here.

     So this is where we are at presently. You will be receiving a notice from the assessor with new figures on what your property is worth, and you may or may not like what you see. I have had a number of people come into my office recently, who have expressed much concern about this, and I do not blame them, I am a property owner too, and I was hit hard in the last reassessment. Of course not everyone was. Since we bought an old house in North Brookfield and kept it from falling apart, my assessment has more than doubled. Save a property, pay more taxes.
     In order to give this whole issue some better understanding, it is important to know how our taxes are figured. In the calculation of the tax rate, that being the amount that you pay for every $1000.00 of assessment, we take into account two very important figures, one being the tax levy which is the amount that we need to pay the bills.  The other is the total assessed value of the town, something determined by the combined worth of each and every piece of property in our town. A re-evaluation will increase that total. We divide the levy by the total assessed value and that gives us a tax rate.  

     When you do the math, you will find that if you increase the total value and keep the levy the same or close to it, you can actually drop the tax rate. A higher property value, but a lower tax rate results. This is not double talk, it is simple calculations. Also, the figures that you receive will not take into account exemptions like agricultural or veterans. If this is confusing, I understand. Come in and I will try to explain it better. I am always happy to get information to the people.

     What can really make a difference here between paying more taxes, and being able to use this as something good for the town is whether or not we have to spend more to support services. We have an aging fleet of equipment and roads that were neglected for years. It will be a challenge to keep costs down.

     Unfortunately, politics has entered into the picture, and this is being called Mr. Salka's tax increase. Why would I want to increase my own taxes? More negativity, more deception. These types of claims are not only inaccurate, but serve no constructive purpose whatsoever. If I was considering entering into an agreement, as was done in 2006, that was going to affect so many of my town's property owners, I certainly would have filled them in beforehand, and allowed them to be part of the decision. Unfortunately, this was never done; as many decisions in the past were made without community input. Again, politics trumps truth.

     The bottom line here is that the state is playing an integral part in encouraging municipalities to form these CAPs to bring property values up to fair and equitable status, and given that, it may in fact be good practice. It's just that the timing could not be worse. Times are tough, and by applying pressure to towns to re-evaluate, some might say it is simply an effort to prop up a dismal state budget, cover for irresponsible spending, and is a refusal to be realistic with taxpayer's funds.

     Another concern is that we all know what is happening to the real estate market. Your home just is not worth what it was two or three years ago, so how can they claim it is of a higher value? Also, towns have no control over what schools or the counties do with reassessments. As a member of the county board of supervisors, I will work diligently to control costs on the county level.

     As your town supervisor, I will do everything in my power to make sure that every penny is spent properly, and I will need your help in trying to do that. There are options that property owners have if they do not agree with their assessments, and I will be more than glad to inform you of your rights. Please, come and see me. You all deserve an explanation. We need to be in this together, and as we see these challenges to our community mount, we will need to work together to make sure that our town remains one of the nicest places around to live-for everybody.

John Salka
Brookfield Town Supervisor


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