GUILFORD – Data mailers will go out to all Guilford property owners next month, containing the inventory on which their new assessment will be based.
According to Guilford Assessor Susan McIntyre, this is a crucial step in the revaluation process the town is currently undergoing, because it allows the information which will be used to calculate the value of each property to be verified by the person who knows it best.
“We want it to be accurate,” McIntyre explained. “And the single best source of information is the property owner.”
The mailers are the third step in the reassessment process, according to Don Weber of the New York State Office of Real Property Services, which now falls under the auspices of the Bureau of Taxation and Finance. Weber was in Guilford last night for a public information meeting, held at the Town Hall.
The reassessment, which Weber described as reappraisal of all real property at 100 percent of market value – began in February, after the town board voted in support of conducting a town-wide property assessment revaluation. It is the first town-wide revaluation to be conducted in the Town of Guilford since 1993.
Over the past five months, McIntyre has spearheaded an inventory of each of Guilford’s approximately 2,000 parcels, using prior records as a baseline cross-referenced with building permits, etc. It is this information which property owners are being asked to verify via the data mailers, she explained.
A sample mailer was circulated during the meeting to give residents an opportunity to see an example of what they will be receiving in their own mailboxes come August.
McIntyre encouraged anyone with questions about the information gleaned from their property inventory to contact her office.
“We will gladly go over it with you,” she said.
According to Weber, while property owners are reviewing the data they receive, McIntyre will begin analyzing recent property sales and developing appraisal documents. All of this information is a matter of public record and will be available for review in the assessor’s office, he said.
The next step in the process, will be a field review, which will take place between October and January. During this time, McIntyre will visit properties to determine their value. This review will be done primarily from the roadway, she explained, and without entering homes, unless the property owner invites them to do otherwise. Appointments can also be scheduled upon request, she added.
Following completion of the field review, Weber said another public information meeting will be scheduled in February prior to the mailing of disclosure notices.
“Assessment disclosure notices must be mailed out on March 1 by law,” he reported. This document will not only reveal the new valuation for each property, but also provide a comparison of what the owner would have paid the previous year in school, county and town taxes if the new assessment had already been in place.
He stressed that this was in no way a prediction of what taxes would be in the coming year, however, as this is determined by the budget, not the assessment. The tax rate (per $1,000 of assessed value), he explained, is calculated by the total tax levy divided by the total assessed value of the town multiplied by 1,000.
Weber reminded residents that the purpose of a reassessment was not to increase taxes. “You’re just redistributing the burden hopefully more fairly,” he explained.
Property owners will have the chance to discuss their assessment with the assessor throughout the month of April, but once the tentative roll is filed on May 1, 2011, she will no longer be able to make changes. At that point, property owners must go before the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance Day, which falls on the fourth Tuesday in May.
“Don’t wait for Grievance Day,” said McIntyre, encouraging residents who had concerns over their assessment to contact her during the informal review phase of the process.
Property owners who are still unsatisfied after following the grievance process, may take the matter one step further. If the property in question is their primary residence and a 1, 2, or 3 bedroom family home, they can take the matter to Small Claims Assessment Review. All others must go through regular small claims court.
“It won’t be until next year that you actually see the results of this assessment,” Weber said, explaining that the assessment rolls will become final on July 1, 2011. They will be used for the first time in September of that year, in school tax bill calculations and in January of 2012 to levy town and county taxes.
McIntyre encouraged anyone with questions to contact the Guilford Assessor’s Office, located in the Guilford Town Hall, 223 Marble Rd. Regular office hours are Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon, and by appointment. To contact the assessor, call 895-6827.
Weber can be reached at (315) 471-2347 or via email at Donald.Weber@orps.state.ny.us.