Irvington Trustees Urge Town of Greenburgh to Phase in Reassessments

The Irvington Village Board of Trustees has sent a letter to the supervisor and town board members of Greenburgh urging them to gradually phase in reassessment changes in advance of the Wednesday night meeting of the Greenburgh board.

The release as received by Patch is as follows:

The members of the Irvington Board of Trustees have expressed strong support for the adoption of the so-called “phase in” local law currently under consideration by the Greenburgh Town Board. As a longtime supporter of the reassessment effort, the Board of Trustees has also been a longtime advocate of implementing the reassessment using a phased in approach. “After 60 years of neglect, I feel it is perfectly reasonable to spread out the impact of such a significant change,” said Irvington Deputy Mayor Constance Kehoe.

The Greenburgh Town Board has the ability to utilize an existing New York State law that allows the phase in of reassessment changes over 5 years. The law was made available to municipalities around the state to help lessen the impact of a reassessment, especially after many years without one. The Irvington Board of Trustees has strongly urged their Greenburgh colleagues to adopt the State law and implement an even phase in.

“Back in 2010, when I was a Trustee and even as far back as 1993, the Board of Trustees has been consistent in its support of a phased in reassessment. We just feel it’s the right thing to do, given the decades that have passed since the last reassessment,” stated Irvington Mayor Brian Smith.

A copy of the Irvington Board of Trustees letter can be downloaded from here.

The Greenburgh Town Board is considering the adoption of transitional assessment local law tonight, April 13, 2016 at 8pm in the Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Ave., Greenburgh, NY.