A regular Meeting of the Town Board of Guilderland was held at the Town Hall, Route 20 McCormick's Corners, Guilderland, NY, on the above date at 7:30 pm. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Roll call by Rosemary Centi, Town Clerk, showed the following to be present:
Councilman Redlich
Councilwoman Slavick
Councilman Pastore
Councilman Grimm
Supervisor Runion
ALSO PRESENT: Richard Sherwood, Town Attorney
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Supervisor Runion welcomed everyone to the evening’s meeting and asked for a motion accepting the minutes of the June 17, 2008 Town Board meeting as amended.
MOTION #149 Councilwoman Slavick moved to ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 17, 2008 TOWN BOARD MEETING. Councilman Pastore seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Abstained
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Aye
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: No public comment
AGENDA ITEMS:
Item # 1 on the agenda concerned granting the Village of Altamont a tax exemption from town tax for property used by the village to supply public water (tax parcels 36.00-1-26, 48.00-2-17.4, 48.00-2-17.5) pursuant to Section 406(3) of the New York Real Property Tax Law.
James Gaughn, Mayor of the Village of Altamont, stated that this item was submitted under a property tax law provision, which allows for a municipality, which operates a water or sewer plant or facility adjacent to another municipality to request, of the taxing authority, an exemption.
The same exemption request was made to the school district and was granted.
The Village intends to submit the same request to the County.
The Altamont Village Board believes that it does not make good policy sense to tax the Village of Altamont residents solely for providing water to its residents and to the 191 residents of Guilderland just outside the village.
He went on to explain further the rationale for the request.
Supervisor Runion stated that the impact to the Town would be $373.50 on one bill, on another $66.33 and on the third bill $75.66 and that the County portion would be the bulk of the bill.
Councilman Grimm asked if this were the only land that the Village owned outside the Village.
Mayor Gaughn stated that it was.
Councilman Redlich asked if this was discretionary and Town Attorney, Richard Sherwood stated that it was.
Further discussion was held regarding the tax exemption and regarding the Walgreen’s court settlement.
Councilman Pastore asked if the Village would be seeking a credit for prior years.
Supervisor Runion stated that it was not retroactive and seeking credit for prior years would not be allowed.
MOTION #150 Councilman Pastore moved to GRANT THE VILLAGE OF ALTAMONT A TAX EXEMPTION FROM TOWN TAX FOR PROPERTY USED BY THE VILLAGE TO SUPPLY WATER (tax parcels 36.00-1-26, 48.00-2-17.4, 48.00-2-17.5) PURSUANT TO SECTION 406(3) OF THE NEW YORK REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Aye
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Abstained - stating he was a Village resident. Thanked the Village for providing water to town residents.
MOTION #151 Councilman Redlich moved to AWARD THE BID FOR THE SURPLUS 1996 ½ TON DODGE PICKUP IN THE AMOUNT OF $965.00. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Aye
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Aye
MOTION #152 Councilman Redlich moved to AUTHORIZE THE DEPARMENT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT TO RE-BID THE SALE OF THE REMAINING SURPLUS ITEMS. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Aye
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Aye
Item #3 on the agenda concerned the ratification of the agreement with CSEA Unit A.
Supervisor Runion stated that he had provided the Town Board with the Memorandum of Agreement.
Supervisor Runion stated that the agreement had been negotiated over an eight-month period.
MOTION #153 Councilman Redlich moved to APPROVE RATIFYING THE AGREEMENT WITH CSEA UNIT A. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Aye
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Aye
Item #4 on the agenda concerned Council members Grimm and Redlich’s agenda item request to discuss property assessment, assessment process and re-evaluation of properties.
Supervisor Runion stated that the Board had received a list from Councilman Redlich which names 22 parcels that may or may not be discussed at the evening’s meeting.
He continued by saying that this was placed on the agenda after some discussion at the last board meeting and with the minutes of that meeting stating that there was some concern expressed with respect to the assessment process.
Supervisor Runion continued by saying that, based on the minutes accepted this evening, there was some indication that there might be issues with parcels of vacant land or large pieces of land where it was perceived that they were not assessed for their full value.
Supervisor Runion then turned the meeting over to Councilman Redlich and Councilman Grimm.
Mr. Richard Myers, owner of property at 1734 Western Avenue, discussed his two properties and what they were appraised for.
He went on to describe his properties and comparable property values.
Councilman Redlich carried on a discussion with Mr. Myers regarding his property.
He stated that he had been placed on the list because the assessor’s records show that the property was purchased for $280,000.00 and he was assessed for $210,000.00. The records did not show that the property had been split.
Councilman Redlich expressed his concern with parcels that are under assessed. He explained three approaches that are used to value property.
Supervisor Runion read a letter from Troy Miller. (P 90A)
Councilman Redlich expressed his opinion that Mr. Miller’s property was an example of a parcel that was assessed for full market value and that there were similar properties in the area that were not.
He questioned why no one from the Assessor’s office was available to speak.
Councilman Pastore asked if there were any materials available for the discussions that were to be held.
Councilman Redlich stated he did not have any.
Councilman Pastore asked why these particular 22 parcels were selected.
Councilman Redlich stated that he felt some of the parcels were under assessed.
Supervisor Runion commented that these parcels were 22 out of 12,366 and that he had asked Councilman Redlich for the list that he mentioned in the previous board meeting minutes.
He further stated that before people commented they should be given information on what they are commenting on and asked what plan Councilman Redlich had for these properties if they were under or over assessed. He asked what Councilman Redlich planned to do in those cases.
He continued by explaining that the Board did not have the authority to change one assessment in the Town of Guilderland or jurisdiction to discuss property assessments. This was the sole province of the Assessor and there is case law on that. So if someone had an individual problem with their assessment, their remedy is to talk to the Assessor, which people have done continually over the years.
He stated that a number of people had attended the meeting interested in finding out what this was all about.
Supervisor Runion stated, “you cannot value property based on speculative or development potential of the parcel and there is case law on that topic as well.”
He stated that on the list a significant number of the parcels were agricultural or former agricultural parcels and if Councilman Redlich was indicating that those parcels were undervalued to the extent of 10% a number of the farming community would be put out of business if the assessed values were manipulated or changed.
He stated that Councilman Redlich had pointed out a parcel across the street from Town Hall, the Roehr Farm, which had a contract on the property for $2 million. That is still a working farm, and must be assessed as a working farm, and the assessment doesn’t change until the contract is completed.
The assessment should be based on the use of the property.
Supervisor Runion continued with an explanation of the types of properties on the list.
He asked Councilman Redlich why the Board was having this discussion and what he was looking for rather than having the property owners speculate as to why they were placed on the list.
Councilman Redlich stated that he thought that there would be public comment at the start of the meeting and there was no proposal to adjust any assessments of the parcels that were on the list.
He wanted to question how the assessor’s office is working, and if they were doing their job correctly and what processes they were using. He stated that it wasn’t about adjusting individual assessments but that it was about the role of the Town Board watching what town government does and making sure they are doing their jobs properly. He further stated that the Board has the duty and the right to look and make sure that the Assessor’s office is doing its job.
Councilman Pastore disagreed and stated that it was not the duty or obligation of the Town Board to determine whether or not the Assessor is doing her job appropriately.
He explained that when the Assessor makes assessments and there is a concern about the assessment, the property owner raises that with the Assessor and are able to grieve their assessment.
If there is a belief that the Assessor is not doing her job, Councilman Pastore stated, then it was the Board’s obligations to, perhaps, bring in someone of an independent nature to review the process. The Town Board does not dictate the process.
He further stated that the assessment of property is not within the discretion of the members of the Town Board and the questions asked just now should not be answered by the members of this Town Board.
Councilman Redlich responded that is would be difficult to challenge the assessment process as a whole. He believed that it was the role of the Town Board to supervise how the subordinate agencies like the Assessor’s office do their jobs. The Board has the right to ask how the job is done and he did not have information of how the job is done and it should be public knowledge.
Councilwoman Slavick stated that all of that information was on the Office of Real Property Service web site and it explained the whole process.
Councilman Redlich stated that he agreed with that, but what he did not know was if the Assessor was doing what she should be doing because she would not come before the Board to answer questions.
Councilman Pastore asked if he disagreed with the case law that there was a presumption of validity with respect to assessments that are made by the Assessor of the municipality?
Councilman Redlich stated that he agreed that when someone challenges his or her assessments there was, but not a presumption governing the Town Board reviewing the assessment process.
Councilman Pastore stated he was not aware of any challenge by the owners of the properties on the list and that there was a presumption of validity of the assessments made by the Assessor. If there is a question with respect to the conclusion made by the town Assessor, it is up to the individual property owner to grieve the assessment.
He continued by stating that the Assessor is a constitutional officer with a specified term and there is a presumption of validity that the Assessor is reviewing the properties in any municipality in accordance with the law dictated by the State of New York. If there is a presumption of validity it is up to the petitioner to override that presumption of validity.
He said, “If you believe the assessments are incorrect, it’s up to you to give specific facts to the Assessor and if she disagrees with your conclusion, then, I guess, you could bring it up to the members of this Board and say on behalf of the residents of the town, I believe the constitutional officer of the Assessor is not doing her job in accordance with New York Law. Are you saying that this evening?”
Councilman Redlich stated he would like to discuss it with her before making that accusation.
He further stated that if someone does not like their assessment, if the average homeowner feels their assessment is unfairly high compared to someone else, “how do they challenge that someone else is low?”
Supervisor Runion stated that they could not challenge someone else’s assessment.
Supervisor Runion then read a portion of an opinion of the Office of Real Property Service (ORPS), which also deals with the jurisdiction of a Town Board with respect to the assessment process, which stated, “the Assessor of a jurisdiction had the sole right to determine the level of assessment within his assessing unit. The Town Board may not substitute its judgement for that of the assessor.” The opinion ended with this conclusion, “the Town Board has no jurisdiction over the assessment roll and may not substitute its judgement for that of the Assessor.”
He asked if Councilman Redlich was not trying to do that this evening?
Councilman Redlich stated that it was not what he was trying to do. He said,” What that talks about is for a Town Board to go into the assessment roll to change this assessment and that assessment and that is not what I am talking about. That does not say we cannot review and inquire of the Assessor what process are you following, how are you doing your job?”
He asked if all the vacant parcels and all of the commercial properties had been assessed and stated that these were questions that should be posed in a public venue.
Councilman Pastore asked if the owners of the adjacent property to the parcels on the list were notified of tonight’s meeting to afford them the opportunity to grieve their concerns.
Councilman Redlich stated that Supervisor Runion had asked for a list of parcels in order to notify property owners that were named and that Councilman Pastore should bring it up with the Supervisor.
Councilman Pastore responded that it was not his agenda item and that he did not know where the Board was going with this. There was brought to this Board a concern about assessments, which he did not have. He further stated that when individual homeowners have concerns about the assessed value of their property they follow a procedure to grieve their assessment. He asked if what Councilman Redlich was saying was that there was a fault in the process because it does not afford homeowners to grieve the under assessed adjoining parcels?
Councilman Redlich stated that he was not saying that. He said, “There is a process for a property owner to say I am not assessed fairly compared to this group of other parcels. There is a process to do that, it is a very expensive process and a homeowner can’t do that.”
He further stated that this was about the fact that the typical homeowner and the typical business owner are assessed roughly at where they should be assessed and there are some properties that are assessed low. I think we have to get an understanding of how the Assessor does her job.
Councilman Pastore said, “If the Assessor were to have answered a question that was posed tonight by the members of this Board; ‘How do you assess the properties?’ and she answered, quite simply, ‘I assess the properties in accordance with NYS Law’ and then sat down, would that be satisfactory?
Councilman Redlich stated that it would not be a satisfactory answer.
Further discussion was held.
Town Clerk, Rosemary Centi said, “ Carol Wysomski has been the Assessor for the past 30 plus years and I think it is egregious that Carol’s name is being bandied about as if she were an ignorant woman and not capable of dong the job that she has so succinctly and so wonderfully done for all this time and represented the Town of Guilderland to the best of her ability. As a personal friend of mine, I find it highly insulting that this Town Board is treating her in such a fashion”.
Angelo Serafini, 2022 Philomena Drive, questioned why Councilmen Redlich and Grimm had not gone to the Assessor’s office.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with their behavior so far and asked that they do their homework and take the time to find out information as he had done. He asked why he had to waste his time for this issue.
He stated that the Assessor’s office has always been professional and he was against parading her in front of the Board. If they had a legitimate concern they should take the time and do the work.
Mr. Serafini stated that he had gone to another municipality to check on a property and its assessed value. He further stated that Mr. Redlich should have done the same thing.
Councilman Redlich stated that the conversations with that office should be in public in front of the Board and she should come before the Board to be questioned.
Further discussion was held between Mr. Serafini and Councilman Redlich regarding the assessment process.
Councilman Grimm stated that the view held by a number of people in the town is that there is something wrong with the assessment process and that some assessments were unfair. He further stated that a number of people felt that the assessment process was broken.
He did not agree with having a list. He wanted to have the Assessor at the meeting to answer questions.
He described a property that he felt had been unfairly and under assessed and he wanted an explanation.
He stated that a firewall had to be established between the politicians and the assessor’s office.
Town Clerk, Rosemary Centi asked a question of Councilman Grimm relative to the property and was told that she did not have any standing to ask a question of the Board.
He stated that perhaps the Assessor was being pressured by the politicians. He further stated, “I appreciate the fact that Mr. Serafini thinks he has a fair assessment and the truth is that he does a lot of business with the Town, with the people that are in power there, so he has a vested interest. Now, he has a right to his opinion, but let’s be clear here, he does a lot of business with the Town. Now there are a lot of people who are not so powerful; and I believe my role is to be a voice for those who aren’t powerful. Many of those people feel that we can improve the assessment process and I feel that it will be very difficult to do that unless we have someone from the Assessor’s office here.”
Jack Gade, Gade Farm, a life long town resident stated that Councilmen Redlich and Grimm should have gone to the Assessor’s office before dragging her in before a kangaroo court.
He further stated that he had gone into the Assessor’s office and all of his questions were answered. The Assessor’s office was doing a good job.
He stated that if anyone had a problem they could call Carol Wysomski and she would be more than happy to talk to the resident instead of trying to get her in here to make a fool of her.
Councilman Redlich stated that he felt the assessor should come before the board.
Mr. Gade stated that Councilman Redlich should go talk to the Assessor and give her an opportunity to talk if there was a problem.
He further stated he did not know how Mr. Redlich could waste her time and the Town’s time instead of going to her office.
Further discussion was held between Mr. Gade and Councilman Redlich regarding where discussions regarding the Assessor’s office should be held with Mr. Gade stating that all there was, was talk, and nothing was being done to benefit the taxpayers of the Town.
Michael Ricard, Furbeck Road, stated that he did not understand Mr. Redlich’s complaint about the Assessor’s office.
He stated that he was hearing two messages, that Mr. Redlich was not sure if the assessment roll was accurate or if it was done correctly. Mr. Ricard further stated that if he had an issue with the assessment roll as a total, when the sole assessor signed it by state law, you should have challenged that issue with her and talked to her in person and not list 22 parcels and say that there are commercial properties that were out of sync with other properties.
Councilman Redlich stated that he had been asked by the Supervisor to provide a list of parcels. He further stated that it was not his plan to have an assessment discussion to talk about Mr. Ricard’s piece of land.
He further stated that he did what the Supervisor asked and it was not his idea to come up with a list.
Mr. Ricard asked why Councilman Redlich gave the Supervisor a list and not the entire assessment roll for the past years.
He further stated that Mr. Redlich had a problem with the validity of the entire assessment roll and whether it was at 100% when it was done and that he had a problem with the way it was met.
He explained that the checks and balances were in place with NYS Real Property and has been for years. They meter whether the Town has done an accurate job with the assessment.
Mr. Ricard presented comparable properties to his own and explained his assessment to the Board answering all questions asked. He further commented that all of the information was in the Assessor’s office.
Mr. Ricard stated that Mr. Redlich was not the Assessor and that the whole purpose of the Real Property Law and the Sole Assessor was to separate the political process from the assessments.
He stated that Supervisor Runion had referenced case law regarding the fact that Town Boards are not supposed to get involved with the Assessment process.
He further stated that the Assessor’s office does an excellent job in explaining the process.
He further stated that if Mr. Redlich had a problem with the Assessor and the job that she was doing, he should have challenged the whole roll.
He also stated that she was absolutely right in saying that she is the only one to testify to the roll, as she is the only one to sign the roll.
He further stated that ORPS has found that it was 100% of where it should be.
Carol Wysomski has also saved the Town a tremendous amount of money by doing the assessments.
Mr. Ricard stated that it was the school tax rate that should be addressed to alleviate the problem with the homeowner not the town tax.
Supervisor Runion explained that a sale does not necessarily trigger a reassessment and that people be aware that property values have not decreased.
He stated that we have an Assessor to use her best judgment to determine value and that’s why the courts have consistently said that the Assessor is the final arbitrator of value and it would be improper for the Board to get into these types of discussions.
He further stated that it was not his job to get the Assessor to the meeting.
Supervisor Runion stated that there had been comments made about Carol Wysomski. He felt that the assessments in the Town were fair and he had no reason to chastise the Town Assessor or question the assessment process. She has served under many prior administrations doing a tremendous job, saving the Town hundreds of thousand of dollars doing the job that she has done.
The Office of Real Property Services would ask her to look through software packages that they had to offer because she is a competent assessor and well respected. The assessment process in the Town of Guilderland is not broken and the assessment process is fair.
Mr. Ricard made comments regarding the commercial properties paying their fair share.
He provided the Town Board with statistics concerning the tax impact of the commercial properties.
He also commented on the impact of school taxes on the homeowner.
He stated that the Town Board needed to work together and focus on replacing Carol, who had done a tremendous job for the Town.
Councilman Grimm stated that he was an outspoken critic of the school taxes in Guilderland. However, the Town sets the assessments and all of the local taxes are based on your assessment, which plays an important role in what your taxes will be.
Ted Danz, Gardner Road, Republican Party Chairman, stated that when he came to speak with the Assessor regarding his property he was told that he had gotten a good deal.
He felt that what was paid for the property should be the market value. He stated that the Assessor had done a good job. He stated that the question was more openness. This was a situation where the Board needed to get together.
Councilman Redlich stated that he felt a property should be looked at when an “arms length” transaction goes through, giving an example of a commercial property on Western Avenue.
He felt that one of the factors that should be looked at when a reval occurs should be what you paid for it.
Joseph Abbruzzesse, Carman Road, stated that Councilman Grimm owed Mr. Serafini an apology for stating that someone is more powerful.
He continued by stating vacant land does not contribute anything to the school districts, no services are involved.
He stated that we couldn’t assess in the Town based on what people are asking. If that were done, people would be forced to sell.
A conversation was held between Mr Abbruzzesse and Councilman Redlich concerning owners of vacant land and homeowners.
Mr. Abbruzzesse further stated that the election was over and that nothing was being accomplished.
Councilman Redlich stated that large landowners should not be treated any differently than a regular homeowner and that everyone should be treated equally.
Councilman Pastore stated that the characterization that was raised regarding the political nature of this meeting, he agreed with.
He said, “I also disagree with the approach that we have followed this evening and that is that there is a presumptive problem with the assessment process in the Town of Guilderland.
Now, that was certainly a very vocal issue that was raised throughout last year’s election and Mr. Ricard is perhaps a victim of that discussion, rightly or wrongly. He has chosen to come here to address the issue that was raised and whether or not he should have debated this issue last year, we’ll let that question be answered by the residents and for that matter, himself. But my concern is, that if we adjourn this meeting this evening with a conclusion that the members of this Board who made a point to bring this assessment issue to this Town Board did not bring it with a presumption of a broken process, I think is clearly wrong, I’ts entirely incorrect.
I have received comments from residents of this town who have received an e-mail that implored their presence this evening that they come here to discuss an assessment process that is flawed.
Now, I don’t know who authored that e-mail, but an e-mail was sent and many residents have brought it to my attention that it was not only intrusive but also invasive to their personal privacy to be receiving e-mails like that.
This Town Board has always commented and always publicized when the meetings are held and the contents and agenda item for each meeting.
Be that as it may, an e-mail has gone around to the residents of the Town which has implored their presence this evening because of “the under assessed properties”, there is a conclusion, that “the properties”, perhaps those 22 that were listed this evening, “…that those property owners pay a lot less than their fair share of property taxes…” another conclusion.
“As a result, homeowners and regular business owners pay more than their fair share”.
The e-mail states: “Come to the July 8th, board meeting at town hall at 7:30 PM. Show the majority that you want fair assessment.”
Now, I presume that the “majority” means that the Democrats who sit on this Board namely Supervisor Runion, Councilwoman Slavick and myself are the majority, so be it.
But, interestingly the e-mail also says “Councilman Redlich has submitted approximately 20 properties with questionable assessments”.
“One property is listed for sale at $2.2 million dollars and is assessed at $130,000”. I think that was the point that was just raised, ironically.
“Assessments for vacant land in Town range from $1,500 per acre up to $150,000 per acre”.
“A million dollar business property on Carman Road is assessed for $220,000”. Now, perhaps again, the identity of the author of this e-mail remains unknown, but it’s rather coincidental that the same points that are in this e-mail are the same points that were brought before the residents of this Town this evening.
I am all for first amendment rights whether it be at the School Board, the Assembly, the Senate or this Town Board, but when aspersions are cast upon the majority whether they be by e-mail or by implication, yes it takes more than one person to engage in an argument.
But I am not going to sit idly by and listen to rhetoric, be it political or rhetoric that is misguided, that the Assessor of this Town has done something, which if the statements that are made this evening are correct, are illegal, under the laws and the regulations of this Town.
If in fact that was done, then I wholeheartedly agree that the members of this Board must act, and act swiftly, to insure that it is not done in the future and that the proper remedial efforts are made to insure that she be removed from her constitutional office.
Until that is done, until the presumption of validity is overturned by the members of this Board or by the Courts of the State of New York, I disagree with the fact that a presumption of invalidity of the assessment process continues.
Let’s discuss it; I’ll stay here as long as you want. There is case law that supports that, there is legislative dicta, which supports that. If there is a presumption of invalidity that is raised by conversations that the process was not fair, then lets bring it before this Board.
I saw no facts this evening, which suggests in any shape, manner or form that the properties that are listed, the 22, were somehow under assessed. It may be the opinion of some; it may be the opinion of more than some but we need facts to support any such conclusion. We as a Board begin to walk a very slippery slope when we conclude anything to the contrary of a presumption of validity of the assessment process. Having said that, none of us likes to pay, I presume, taxes or high taxes but that is not the issue. The issue is whether the assessment process is flawed by the laws of the State of New York. I’ve heard nothing to suggest that they are and if we have another discussion, whether it be behind closed doors in Executive Session or in public let us be certain that
we conclude on facts and not on presumptions.
Councilman Grimm said, “ There are a lot of hard feelings on the assessment issue, that is to be true. There is a viewpoint that there is nothing wrong with the assessment process and there is a viewpoint that the assessment process can be improved. If we are going to improve the assessment process, we can’t be in this continual state of locking heads. I will continue to push for a way of trying to improve the process so we bolster public confidence.
I don’t think the list was a good idea because it spooks landowners and the issue is not with the landowners and no one is trying to raise their assessments. The issue is can we have more confidence that everyone is being treated fairly townwide both commercially, vacant and residential. We need to bolster the confidence in this town that the assessment process is fair.
We also have to review what happened at the last re-evaluation. The 2005 re-evaluation did not go well. What were the problems, how can we improve, how can we be better prepared for 2010?
If we go into 2010 without a plan to improve what happened in 2005, everybody is going to be negatively affected. So, what I wanted this assessment hearing to be about tonight are the things that I talked about, how do we improve the process, how do we learn from our mistakes in 2005 and improve so the next time it comes around we’re able to improve the process.
Also the grievance process, I have some personal issues and I talked to a lot of folks that had the same concerns that I have. I know that those concerns still exist among the people in Guilderland and that’s the fact. They can dispute this until the cows come home, that’s the fact.
I think we continue to be focused on how we improve the assessment process and let’s work together to try to limit the political heat and shed as much light as we can.”
Supervisor Runion said, “I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric for the last six months about the assessment process, I continue to hear general, superficial comments about this process is broken, that process is broken. It’s time for the people who claim that the process is broken to step forward with some reasonable solution. If they really feel that the process is broken tell us how or give us some opinion of how they would fix it.
I don’t think there is any person on this Board that isn’t interested in making the Town run more efficiently or to run better, but when all we do is throw rocks or pies up against the wall and watch how they splatter because we are looking for political cannon fodder, I think that’s wrong and that’s a mistake. It’s time to step up to the plate, time to come forward with some solutions, if you have any, come forward with some ideas about the assessment process. How do you achieve that, you achieve that by doing a little bit of work. That means you come in and visit the various department heads, you go and talk to members of the State Legislature, you may talk to people on the County level, you do your homework, you do your research and then you come back
and you report. If you have a logical issue or if there is an issue that the Town Board can address, I’ll be the first one to put it on the agenda, I will be the first one to vote with you if you can come up with something that will make the process better. But remember, we are a creature of the State of New York and we have to abide by the rules that the State of New York imposes on us. They impose very strict rules on the Assessor with respect to the assessment process and they impose very strict rules on the Town Board with respect to the assessment process and they impose very strict rules on what we can tax and what we cannot. They put mandates on the Town for things that we have to pay for that we did not have to pay for in the past. Those are all things we have to deal with on a daily basis. It’s time to stop the political bickering and it’s time to get in the solution phase. I have to agree with one speaker, and I cannot
remember which speaker it was, I have never sat on a board, and I have sat on several boards, I was the Mayor of the Village of Altamont for a number of years and of course that was a split board it was a three-two board and I sat on this Board when I first became Supervisor which was a three-two board. On each of those boards we accomplished something. Over the last six months we have not accomplished a thing. All we’ve done is sat here and had fingers pointed and things thrown against the wall saying this is wrong, that’s wrong, this is broken, why isn’t this fixed, bring this person before the Board so we can ask them questions. It’s time to come up with some solutions; it’s time to come up with some thoughts and ideas on how to make Guilderland a better place to live in, a better place to work in.
We are in a very difficult and precarious time with the economy. We are seeing some of our resources just evaporate in front of our eyes including higher prices for gasoline, increased prices for retirement costs, increased health insurance costs, lower revenue sources because people aren’t spending.
Frankly, people are frightened, I believe, because of the economy. We’ve seen lagging sales on home sales, our mortgage tax this half was well below what we had estimated it to be. That’s because there haven’t been the sales and there hasn’t been the refinances that have occurred in the past.
That is not the Town’s fault and that’s not anybody on this Board’s fault, it’s the fault of a lagging economy. But we have to work within our means to improve things here and we are not going to improve by just pointing fingers at everybody and saying that they are not doing the job. Let’s all get together, get the job done and move forward. Come up with some solutions and I think the residents will respond to that and I know that the Board members here, who want to work cooperatively, will respond with some accomplishment over the next several months.”
Councilwoman Slavick said, “ I have been on this Board eight years and I have to say I have never heard anything said about our Assessor in a derogatory manner. All I’ve heard is that she has done a very good job. Also, I think Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm should go in to the Assessor’s office to see her.
I am liaison to the Police, to the Senior Office, and EMS. I go in to see every one of them and that is how I get all the information that I need and they always have an open door.
I would like to direct you back to the ORPS web site www.orps.state.ny.us <http://www.orps.state.ny.us> and it is a wealth of information. I have been researching it for the past couple of
days and it has a lot of information, for example, on the job of the assessor, how the equalization rate is determined, how market value is determined, how assessments are determined and how the software works, and if you want to grieve your assessment, how to go about doing it.
There is also a video of only 28 minutes but it takes you through the whole process and how the assessments are developed and I think it’s a very informative site and I think you should go visit it.
MOTION #154 Councilman Redlich moved to ADJOURN THE JULY 8TH TOWN BOARD MEETING AT 10:05 PM. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich Aye
Councilwoman Slavick Aye
Councilman Pastore Aye
Councilman Grimm Aye
Supervisor Runion Aye
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Centi, RMC
Town Clerk
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