Town government has a few functions that are mandatory and required by State Law. In fact, a line-by-line review of all the services a “town” provides would yield very few mandatory functions, especially when villages exist within the same boundaries. There is, however, one absolute, sole responsibility of town government and that is to administer, manage and execute real property assessment for each parcel within its boundary. The function cannot be delegated to villages and counties rarely engage in conducting the service beyond supporting the extensive databases on behalf of each town and city within its boundaries. The function of property tax assessment performed by a sole town assessor provides the basis for property taxation for all other governmental entities you pay property tax to, including the county, the town, the village, the school and fire districts. The collection of millions of your property tax dollars is dependent upon the integrity and efficient management of assessing real property. It is imperative that you know and understand the details of how your annual property valuation is decided. New York State Real Property Tax Law (RPTL), particularly articles 3, 5 and 14, requires that all real property be assessed for tax purposes. State law mandates that municipalities assess properties at a uniform percentage of market value annually.

Key aspects of NYS Property Tax Assessment Law:

¯ Assessment: Town sole assessors must estimate the market value of all real property annually.

¯ Uniformity: Properties must be assessed at a consistent percentage of market value.

¯ Definition of “market value” — In New York state, market value is defined as the most probable price a property will bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, typically described as an arm’s-length transaction between a willing buyer and seller. NYCRR 3-2.3 defines it as the price at which a willing seller and buyer agree to a transaction. Aside from the duties and responsibilities delegated to and bestowed upon the chiefs of (police, EMS, fire) there is no more solemn, community-impacting function than ensuring that the system by which our citizens are taxed is executed with the highest level of clarity and integrity. The property tax assessment roll is the foundation on which the village, town, county and school local governmental bodies will decide the amount of mandatory funds you will contribute every year.

This is not beyond-our-control federal government; this is not the decades-old dysfunctional state government; this is your locally elected officials demanding the annual taxation payment, presumably for the greater good of the community or they will seize your property and sell it to the highest bidder. By any measure, the Tupper Lake Supervisor Ricky Dattola continues to knowingly ignore, deflect and defend his failure to ensure that the function of property tax assessment is conducted in an equitable manner. Since first taking office in 2021, the supervisor has watched the market values of property rise, some years dramatically, yet he refuses to act to follow the law to ensure fair market valuation is decided for each parcel of property in the town. The Town of Tupper Lake’s equalization rate is now at 60%, which by any measure is beyond bad. It guarantees a reduction in state-aid (which Tupper Lake relies on heavily), a reduction in your STAR exemptions, more court challenges of assessments and most importantly, it totally confuses most taxpayers to the point they just give up trying to understand it. And if all of that does not sound bad enough, there is a clear pattern of some people not paying their fair share for many, many years, forcing others without privileged access to the system to pay more. Please do not take my word exclusively for any of the above, the topic is too important, and the results directly affect your household finances. Below are (2) links that you can access for free; the first is a link to a straightforward information paper titled “Fair Assessment” published by the New York State Office for Real Property Services, the second is a link to the look-up system sponsored by Franklin County that allows you to review the town’s determination of “fair market value” and “assessment” for every parcel in the town.

Check it out, you might be surprised at what you find: tinyurl.com/mva7exdy, tinyurl.com/36rfdfw2

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Stephen Jellie is a resident of Piercefield and owns a business in Tupper Lake.