Governor Signs Galef/Carlucci Bill to Ease Burden on Municipalities with Recent Reassessments

The Governor has signed legislation to allow the Town of Ossining to have the option to adopt a program in their reassessment process that would phase in over three years the impact of the increases in assessments on property values. The bill, A10689/S8156, was sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and was introduced and carried in the Senate by Senator David Carlucci.

In New York State, there are measures to encourage reassessment, and this represents a new approach for municipalities to consider. Reassessments are inconsistent statewide and countywide, with some municipalities conducting them annually, and others having not been reassessed since the early 1900s. Generally, the more time that passes between assessments, the more inequitable they become. This puts an undue burden on some homeowners, which are assessed at a higher than accurate value, and provides an unwarranted break for those whose property is assessed at a lower than accurate value. One challenge that arises when reassessing these long-unchecked properties is that the increases can be jarring for many homeowners. This legislation provides a “buffer” that allows residents to prepare financially for the increased tax liability. This program can be adopted by the Town of Ossining after a local public hearing.

"As chair of the Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee, I always work toward passing legislation that encourages communities to have updated assessment rolls to assure fairness in local and county taxation,” said Galef. “This legislation offers tools for municipalities to assist property owners, especially after decades of no reassessment, and a companion bill will offer the same to the town of Greenburgh to assist property owners with large increases in assessed value of their properties. Hopefully the Governor will sign the legislation immediately so that Ossining and Greenburgh can decide whether to adopt this option for these two communities that have recently gone through reassessment.”

“Conducting a reassessment after 45 years is a difficult process. We provided Ossining with the ability to ease the burden for those property tax payers who would have to pay a significant increase in a single tax year. This law will provide Ossining with the resources they need, in order to keep their assessment rolls updated and will benefit our communities in the long run. I am proud to have worked with my colleague Assemblywoman Sandy Galef on this important piece of legislation to help Ossining homeowners,” said Senator David Carlucci.

Dana Levenberg, Town Supervisor of Ossining, said: “While the reassessment process is beneficial overall bringing accuracy and transparency to our tax rolls and our property values, getting to that point has not been easy. It is not the fault of those whose assessments went way up that they were not accurately assessed before. To bridge the gap and make it easier for people to deal with this sudden shift, I am grateful to Assemblywoman Galef and Senator Carlucci, as well as Governor Cuomo, for delivering legislation that will ease us into our revaluation.”

The Governor signed this legislation on July 5, 2016 and it will go into effect immediately. A similar law was signed for the Town of Greenburgh.