Cara Matthews

TJN

Three communities have signed or are finalizing contracts to reassess property values for the first time in decades.

The last time Greenburgh revalued its real estate was in the mid-1950s. For Yonkers, it was 1954. Ossining's most recent reassessment was in the early 1970s.

The purpose of the process is not to increase revenue; it is to spread the property-tax burden fairly, said Fernando Gonzalez, the town of Ossining's assessor. Revaluation traditionally results in a higher value for one-third of properties, a decrease for one-third and the status quo for one-third.

"Basically it's to make sure that people pay only their fair share based on the correct market value of their property," he said. "Of course there will be those that are under-assessed, in other words not paying their fair share, and they are not going to be happy when they have to pay their fair share."

While most states require regular reassessments, New York tax law leaves the decision up to municipalities. Westchester communities are notorious for not updating property values, a process fraught with controversy, particularly in the county that pays the highest property taxes in the nation.

But setting property values at market level would eliminate the need for the state to determine equalization rates, which attempt to keep values current but don't account for fluctuations in the value of different homes over the years. It also cuts down on property owners successfully challenging outdated assessments and getting tax rebates.

Greenburgh, Ossining and Yonkers are part of the Multiple Municipal Reassessment Consortium, which originally included nine member communities that were researching whether to undertake reassessments. Several municipalities have ruled out revaluations, but Peekskill and North Salem have not.

Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina said he thinks revaluation is the right thing to do, but he doesn't know how the city could afford the $950,000 price tag. City officials this week asked the school board to share the cost. The city council has not voted on the issue yet.

North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

A few other Westchester municipalities have revalued property in recent years, including Mamaroneck, Pelham and the town of Rye in 2013. Scarsdale is conducting a reassessment.

Yonkers, Greenburgh and Ossining each will sign contracts with Tyler Technologies, a software company headquartered in Plano, Texas, and Michael Haberman Associates Inc. of Mineola, Nassau County, real estate appraisers and consultants. Haberman Associates will be the monitor, ensuring the projects stay on schedule.

Greenburgh has about 28,000 residential and commercial parcels, Yonkers has roughly 36,500 and Ossining has 10,138 (in Ossining village, the unincorporated area of Ossining town and about 93 percent of Briarcliff Manor village), for a total of nearly 75,000. Westchester has about 257,000 property parcels.

The Greenburgh Town Board approved a resolution last month to do a revaluation, assessor Edye McCarthy said. The Tyler Technologies contract is $3.5 million, and the Haberman Associates contract is roughly $300,000.

Not reassessing property for so long has led to "assessment inconsistencies, widespread lack of public confidence in the system and an inordinate number of assessment appeals," the resolution to hire Tyler Technologies said.

Ossining and Yonkers are still finalizing their contracts with the companies, officials said. The project is expected to cost Ossining about $1.8 million and just under $5 million for Yonkers.

Greenburgh officials are scheduling a kick-off meeting within the next week or two, McCarthy said. The anticipated completion date for the project is June 1, 2016, which is when the change in assessment would take effect, she said.

"The property owner will be informed every step of the way with regard to inventory collection," McCarthy said, adding there will be ample time for taxpayers to review their assessed value.

Ossining hopes to start the revaluation process in April. It is expected to take two years, and new assessments would take effect with the 2016 roll, Gonzalez said.

By banding together with other communities, the cost of the reassessments is cheaper. "We really have some tremendous savings because of the economies of scale," Gonzalez said.

"We're hoping that as this effort moves forward that more municipalities will join in and do the right thing," he said.

The Yonkers revaluation is scheduled to begin in August, and the new assessment roll would be finalized in 2018.

The process is a shared one between city government and taxpayers, Yonkers assessor David Jackson said. There will be public information programs to inform different parts of the city when property inspections will take place. Owners should read any information sent to them and make sure it's correct.

"We would want them to work with us to make sure that we get the maximum benefit from this project," he said.

Take action

Attend the Greenburgh kick-off meeting for revaluation in the next two weeks. To check the date: http://www.greenburghny.com/