Last week, a Poughkeepsie Journal editorial criticized my opposition to the citywide property revaluation and stated my call to halt the process "would have made little sense and would have wasted taxpayer dollars."

The City of Poughkeepsie stands to lose much more than the $400,000 paid to the revaluation consulting firm if the reassessment is completed.

Let's be clear: I opposed the revaluation from the first moment it was presented by this administration. My initial concern with the revaluation was not that one does not have to be conducted, but that there could not be a worse time to do it.

Carrying out the revaluation now would particularly fall hard on the residents of the city who could least afford it. The revaluation will significantly impact the residents who have been hit with annual property tax increases, higher gasoline costs, higher utility bills and whose salaries have been stagnant. Our city is at a critical stage, trying to bring in business to fill thousands of square feet of vacant commercial space in our commercial corridor. However, the commercial properties in the city will also be significantly affected, with the owners and landlords having no choice but to pass the increased taxes on to tenants. The revaluation threatens to halt the progress made in this city not only of attracting business but providing affordable, decent housing. This is not the right time for a revaluation.

With that said, my concern with the revaluation has expanded. The process of conducting a revaluation requires constant attention to detail. It requires an enormous amount of information on every property in the city be compiled. This process requires the company conducting the revaluation to be of the utmost competence and professionalism in order for the public to know it was done correctly.

Snafu creates concern
The company that has conducted the revaluation has not met this standard. Not only did the company send out thousands of notices containing erroneous information to the wrong people, but some of the new statements contain incorrect property identification numbers so homeowners cannot log on to the firm's Web site and challenge the accuracy of the information the company collected. Even more troubling, as of Friday, some parts of the city have not received a preliminary notice. The time for these residents to deal with their reassessments will be even shorter. Why have these residents of the north side, who have not received their statements, been given less time than the rest of the city?

Subjective judgment
Parts of the revaluation process are very subjective. For example, one of the factors considered in the assessment of a property is "condition." "Condition" can be excellent, average or below average. Each resident should be able to fully discuss this with the company and the assessor. It will take time for the resident to compare properties and streets and develop an argument if he or she does not agree with the preliminary assessment.

Communication with the residents about assessments and the complete new assessment roll should be open and clear. Regrettably, this part of the process has been shrouded in secrecy and clouded with the confusion of the erroneous mailings and difficulty using Web site. The corrections cannot be completed overnight.

The fact of the matter is there is simply not enough time to ensure the company conducting the revaluation and the assessor can produce accurate tax rolls.
Will we trade one set of inequitable tax rolls for another set of inequitable tax rolls? Or will we take the time to get it right?

John Tkazyik is a member of the City of Poughkeepsie Common Council.

AREA NEWSPAPER
CONTACT INFORMATION

ULSTER/ DUTCHESS

Poughkeepsie Journal
PO Box 1231
Poughkeepsie, NY 12602
(845) 454-2000
For an on line letter to the editor. Fill out this form

ULSTER COUNTY

Saugerties Times
Monday deadline
P.O.Box
Phone:334- 8200
FAX your letter 334-8202
saugertiestimes@ulsterpublishing
(Attention Erica Freudenberger, editor)
P.O.Box 3329
Kingston, NY 12402

Albany Times Union
Times Union
90 State Street
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 454-5091
For an on line letter to the editor. Fill out this form

COLUMBIA COUNTY
The Independent
Indenews (online)

P.O. Box 360
Hillsdale, NY 12529
Phone (518) 325-4400
FAX (518) 325-4497
Parry Teasdale, editor

letters to editor require form through website

***NOTE: Our websites make an effort to glean info for our readers from local papers. This is no way a substitute for subscribing or picking up a local paper. We gratefully acknowledge the efforts local newspapers and publications make to our community.