Staff Writer
April 30, 2008 04:00 am
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Essex County wary of adopting state equalization data and any strings that go with them
By KIM SMITH DEDAM
ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County supervisors took issue this week with the state's property-value equalization formula.
The Ways and Means Committee became mired in a discussion about whether to accept some $25,000 in state funds to study the county's property-assessment process.
CONCERNS
Supervisor George Canon (R-Newcomb) said he would not support any town assessment program orchestrated by the state.
Supervisors Gerry Morrow (D-Chesterfield), Dale French (R-Crown Point) and Randy Preston (I-Wilmington) agreed.
Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava (R-Moriah) questioned whether the $25,000 grant was a "carrot that the state of New York's got dangling on a stick."
Canon suggested they give the grant money back, lest the state exert any control over local assessments.
As discussion ensued, Supervisor Roby Politi (R-North Elba), representing a town where property values total more than $1.5 billion, said countywide assessment has nothing to do with equalization rates.
Essex County already coordinates town assessment rolls, he said.
The county has been praised by the State Office of Real Property for its work in coordinating town numbers.
"County-wide assessing is (already) done here at the county by our folks," Politi said.
EQUALIZATION RATE
That process has nothing to do with the equalization rate, which is set by the state evaluation of a cross-section of property sales.
The equalization rate is calculated over a three-year period in three different sections of Essex County: the Northern Zone, the Southern Zone and the Keene/North Elba Zone.
Towns falling below 100-percent valuation are told how much they need to raise assessments.
"Sales from two years ago are still in the pool," Politi said. "The blend doesn't work. I would love to see this board challenge the equalization rate."
GRANT FOR STUDY
Newly confirmed Essex County Office of Real Property Director Bernard Roy told supervisors the $25,000 in state grant funds in question would apply only to a study to see if the state and county assessment systems mesh.
"We've already started and have been doing an analysis to see where the towns are. I think the study is a good idea. I want to see if we are basically coming up with the same analysis."
Roy said the money would be used to hire an outside contractor to complete the research.
Supervisor Joyce Morency (R-St. Armand) asked if Roy had a list of contractors provided by the state.
Roy said no, the list did not come from State Office of Real Property.
And, he added, the research does not obligate towns to move to a county-wide system.
Supervisors approved Roy's grant funds for the study only and said they would accept no further monies toward county-wide assessment.
RATE QUESTIONED
Scozzafava said he understood the equalization rate comes from data submitted by local assessors.
But Supervisor Daniel Connell (D-Westport) said some information, such as intra-family home sales, is not factored into the equation, leaving out a large number of real-estate transactions in the North Country.
Connell said the equalization rates are skewed by high-priced second-home sales to people with higher-paying jobs from New York City and New Jersey.
Supervisors said they would formally challenge the equalization rates in a future meeting.
kdedam@pressrepublican.com
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