David McKay Wilson

dwilson3@lohud.com

Greenburgh's revaluation found $1.3 billion in real estate value

Residential assessments rose the most in the Irvington school district - up 18 percent

Residential assessment fell the most in the Greenburgh Central 7 school district - down 11 percent

State says almost all of the increase or decrease would come in the first year of the 5-year phase-in

What makes for property tax fairness depends on which side of the fence you stand on in Greenburgh.

The diverse central Westchester town of 90,000 is about to complete its first revaluation of its real estate in 60 years, and things are about to change dramatically for many homeowners.

With the June 1 deadline for its updated assessment rolls rapidly approaching, the Greenburgh Town Board is scrambling to satisfy restive property owners in the town’s high-priced neighborhoods who will face substantial tax increases on properties that have been under-assessed for decades.

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The Town Board is studying whether to become the state’s first municipality to phase in the revaluation over five years. Edgemont attorney Bob Bernstein says it could allow the town to blunt the impact of substantial assessment hikes – and much higher tax bills – for residents in the town’s well-heeled school districts, such as Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Edgemont.

Bernstein, whose own assessment was reduced, said the elderly who’ve lived in those communities for decades, and young families just moving in, are among those who will most feel the revaluation wallop.

“A lot of young families are house rich and cash poor,” he said. “They just bought their homes. They had no clue their houses were grossly under-assessed.”

Among those bewailing their tax predicament was Jim Koeppel of Irvington, who lives in a single-family home with his daughter. His home has been taxed as if it were worth $379,000. The revaluation pegs his new value at $751,000, which could boost his property tax bill from $11,000 to $19,000 a year.

Phasing in the assessment increases, however, means phasing in the assessment decreases. Property owners in Elmsford and Greenburgh Central 7, after decades of subsidizing their more affluent neighbors, will continue to pick up their neighbor’s tax tab until the phase-in is complete in 2021.

Dan Weinfeld, who lives in Upper Manor Woods in Hartsdale, said his review of the new assessments in his neighborhood found an overall decrease of 2 percent, which means he and his neighbors could be due a reduction in their property taxes next year. He’s in no mood for a phase-in, noting that it appears those in his neighborhood have been overpaying for years.

“We’ve been subsidizing people in Hastings and Irvington who have $1 million homes to sell at a profit,” he said. “Our values have gone down. We don’t have that option.”

The inequities in Greenburgh developed over decades, as a result of New York's weak property-tax law, which makes periodic revaluation optional for municipalities. That means revaluation is a political decision to be made by municipal boards — a decision that will unpopular with those who have enjoyed low assessments.

The Greenburgh revaluation confirms what recent reassessments in Scarsdale and Mamaroneck have found: the state formula used to “equalize” outdated assessments favors upper-income neighborhoods, where housing values have risen far higher than the townwide average.

There’s substantial money at stake.

The Greenburgh revaluation has discovered $1.3 billion in value that wasn’t on the tax rolls – an increase of 6 percent townwide. But whose residential assessments went up and whose went down depends, in part, on where in Greenburgh you live.

A graphic on the website of town assessor Edye McCarthy shows in stark detail where the pain is being felt, and where immediate tax savings could be had, if the reassessment isn’t delayed on June 1. The report shows how property values rose and fell in the town’s 10 school districts.

Here’s where race and class comes in.

GRAPHIC: How residential assessment went up or down in Greenburgh's 10 school districts

The school districts with the biggest decreases in value and will reap the biggest tax savings – Greenburgh Central 7 and Elmsford – are those with the highest minority populations, with more than 50 percent of their students from economically disadvantaged families, according to the state Education Department. Overall residential housing values dropped 11 percent in Greenburgh Central, and 10 percent in Elmsford.

The biggest increases, meanwhile, came in Irvington and Hastings-on-Hudson. Those districts, with the highest proportion of white students in Greenburgh, are also among those with the lowest percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Residential housing values rose 18 percent in Irvington and 16 percent in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Just how much would be phased in, however, is a subject of debate. Bernstein maintains the state law would allow a phase-in over five years, with roughly 20 percent increases or decreases each year. But John Wolham, regional director of the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance, told the Town Board on Tuesday that almost all of the increase – or decrease – would come in 2016, which would negate the benefit of the phase-in promoted by Bernstein in Edgemont. He also said that the phase-in would preclude the town from receiving up to $140,000 a year in state aid related to the revaluation.

Bernstein railed against Wolham on Tuesday, threatening to take the state to court to challenge the state’s interpretation of the statute.

“That’s complete nonsense, I’ll see you in court,” he said.

Wolham’s interpretation of the phase-in law seemed to influence Town Supervisor Paul Feiner’s view.

By Wednesday, he had prepared a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state legislators, associations of municipal and county officials, asking if they had knowledge about legislative initiatives that could be enacted to mitigate the impact of tax fairness in Greenburgh.

“Residents who have contacted me are reporting that they can’t sleep at night, they are very stressed and upset,” the letter said. “Can you help us come up with legislative initiatives that Albany and the town can adopt that can be of assistance?”

But June 1 looms just two months away. The town has already spent $3.8 million on the revaluation process, which began two years ago. It’s crunch time in Greenburgh. Tax fairness awaits.

Columnist David McKay Wilson writes about tax and money issues for lohud/The Journal News.