Clayton Taxpayers Association

WWW.CLAYTONTAXPAYERS.COM     8-18-08

               Statement Of Purpose……..

    One thing that binds taxpayers together is the wish to be taxed fairly on the true value of what they own. The current system In N.Y.S. allows townships to hire persons according to budget restrictions and assess properties by whatever means they choose. These assessors are given the task of satisfying the proposed levy in any fashion they choose. They are then covered with a Teflon stamp of approval, that Town Boards seem willing to defend at any cost as long as all the T’s are crossed and all the I’s dotted. A taxpayer can reveal errors in their assessment through the various arbitrary hearings. The result of which most often is a compromise in percentages of tax increase, according to the grievousness of the errors attested to! Like in a Mexican Market place a vender asks twice as much as they expect to get, hoping that the customer is unawares and ignorant to the system of dickering, thus happily paying the full price. “Ignorance is Bliss,” they say!

   There are two things that could be done to improve this kangaroo assessment system.

1.                    We need new software mandated by the State that is developed independently from the archaic current system and yet allows for a streamlining of data from the old into the new database.  This new data base would be accessible by all taxpayers’ owning property in a given township for the purpose of entering one’s own data, such as land survey, abstracts, quality of frontage, access to services such as water and sewer, fire protection, seasonal roads, etc. The ability to go online and enter into your own file, data pertinent to your building, structures and home, such as would be used by a realtor to determine the true value of your property as if it were for sale.  Data such as types of flooring, foundations, window, siding, roofing, type of framing, winterization, septic, water service, age of structure, condition as well as the current dimensions and number of baths and bedrooms.  All of these items representing the very quality of anything that is more or less pertinent to the property. A sworn affidavit would accompany all submitted data using the U.S. Postal System.

2.                  All information whether gathered from the old files

and records or submitted by the taxpayer would then be checked by the assessor, their assistants, or data entry persons hired to confirm data whether from within the system or in the field using an inspection process.  This process in the first few years would be more intensive, employing enough staff to get the job thoroughly done.  The inspection process would eventually taper off as a township was near completion and all those who wished to be accurately accounted for were checked.  Such a thorough and detailed description of properties would enhance the clarity of assessments done by local assessors, thus eliminating much litigation that currently is tying up our State court system.  This same database would be available to any taxpayer during the grievance process, so that anyone can compare a property in question with others who have the same or nearly the same physical characteristics.  Clearly described data would make for clearly assessed properties and clearheaded judgments by those hired or appointed to do so.

          Beyond these two points described above, a fair and equitable assessment process can only be obtained through hard work, the hiring of more data entry professionals and software that truly allows guidelines to be achieved.  This same software should act as an umbrella that would red flag inequities and highlight areas that need attention.  The Provence of Ontario, Canada has had such a system in place since 2005 www.mpac.ca/

          Clever people need only to streamline similar software and method into the New York States system and or any state for that matter.  Our State Supreme Court is burdened in part by lawsuits from taxpayers trying to get a fair shake in the assessment process.

 At the heart of this is a data collection system that is antiquated and ineffective at best.  It is time for a change.  Let’s spend the tax dollars where they can be used to make these changes happen, not for defense in court for erroneous assessments that are likely to reoccur the very next year.

                      William L. Salisbury   8/18/08

                                 Clayton Taxpayers’ Group