In March
2006,
property owners in the towns of Ballston and
Glenville received notices from their Town
Assessor's office with new preliminary property
assessment figures, many of which were dramatically
higher than the old assessment.
Although the
school district plays no role in the reassessment
process, we know it can cause frustration, anxiety
and confusion among our residents, partly because
there are several myths out there about how
reassessment works and how it impacts school taxes.
Below is
information you may find helpful, including:
1.
What is the most common mistake people make
when calculating the impact of a new
property assessment?
When trying to estimate the
impact of your new assessment, you cannot
simply multiply the NEW assessment by the
OLD tax rate.
The fact that property
values have increased does not increase the
amount of money that the school district
needs (the tax levy). In fact, when
property values go UP throughout a town, the
tax rate (tax per thousand dollars of
assessed value) goes DOWN because you are
still collecting the same total dollars of
tax (the tax levy).
2.
Does the school district play a role in
property assessments?
NO, under state law the
property reassessment process is carried out
entirely by your town. In the spring, each
town prepares an assessment roll listing all
property owners and the assessed value of
each parcel of land. Information from this
roll is shared with the school district
every June. (See more details below.)
3.
Does the school district benefit from
property assessment?
NO, the Board
of Education only decides what the overall
tax levy will be, and that number is
unrelated to the assessment or reassessment
process. The tax levy is the amount of money
the Board of Education decides is needed to
balance a new school budget after state aid
and any other sources of school revenue are
taken into consideration.
The tax levy
is a measure of school need, not of property
value. For example, the tax levy would be
the same if the total value of land in a
town was $100 million or $500 million. The
fact that property values have been measured
anew (reassessed) does not change what the
school district needs (tax levy); it merely
redistributes how the same tax levy will be
shared across the town.
4.
Why do properties have to be reassessed?
Properties
have to be reassessed periodically because
property values change over time. Many would
argue that a school tax system based on the
supposed market value of one’s home is a
flawed system, but under NY state law it is
the system we must use. Therefore, there are
a number of steps and procedures built into
the system to ensure that the tax burden is
shared as fairly as possible. Some of these
steps are periodic reassessment,
reassessment grievances, state equalization
rates, and exemptions for low-income
residents.
5.
So how can I figure out what will happen to
my school taxes after reassessment?
A town-wide
reassessment is sort of like recalibrating
your measuring instrument — once you do that
you can no longer compare old and new
measurements exactly to one another because
the basis of these figures has changed. The
best you can do is make an estimate.
The key to
estimating what will happen to your school
taxes next September is to look at how much
your assessment changed in comparison with
other properties in your town. For example,
say assessments increased by 50% on average
across your town:
If your assessment also increased by 50%,
your school taxes will probably increase by
the SAME percentage proposed in the new
school budget.
If your assessment increased by less than
50%, your school taxes will probably
increase by LESS than the percentage
proposed in the new school budget.
If your assessment increased by more than
50%, your school taxes will probably
increase by MORE than the percentage
proposed in the new school budget.
Timeline: How are Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake school tax bills determined?
1.
School Decision
The BH-BL
Board of Education decides on a TAX LEVY for
the coming school year. This is the total
amount of money that the Board determines
will be needed to balance the school budget
after State Aid and other revenue sources
are taken into account.
The overall tax levy is projected
before the school budget vote in
May,
but the school board can amend the levy if
conditions change before tax bills are
prepared in late August. For instance, when
the New York state budget is late and the
school board does not know how much income
the district will receive from state aid,
the tax levy can only be an estimate.
2.
Town Decisions
Our school
district contains parts of four towns:
Ballston, Charlton, Clifton Park and
Glenville. In the spring, each town prepares
a Final Assessment Roll for that year
listing all parcels of property and the
assessed value of each. Information from
these rolls is shared with the school
district every
June.
After a
town-wide reassessment, nearly every parcel
of land will have a new assessment value
attached to it. On other years, only a few
properties will have new assessment values,
typically because they have been sold,
subdivided or the site of new construction.
3.
State ORPS Decision
The State
Office of Real Property Services (ORPS)
attempts to “equalize” property assessments.
It compares properties in each town and how
they are currently assessed and calculates
an EQUALIZATION RATE for each town. The
equalization rate represents the state’s
judgment of how closely assessed values in
that town match true market value of the
properties.
Equalization rates for our four towns are
sent to the school district in
August.
4.
Calculations
In
late
August, the school district uses the
total assessed value of land in each town
(# 2 above) and the state equalization rates (# 3)
to calculate the percentage of the school
tax levy (# 1) that must be paid by
landowners in that town that year. In other
words, the district calculates each town’s
portion of the overall school tax burden.
Each town’s
portion of the tax levy is then divided by
the total assessed value of land in that
town to determine the school TAX RATE per
one thousand dollars of assessed value for
that town.
5.
Printing & Mailing of Tax Bills
By September
1, individual tax bills are printed and
mailed to land owners. Individual tax bills
are calculated using:
The assessed value of each land parcel.
Any applicable exemptions (STAR, disability
or senior citizen).
The school tax rate for that town that year.
Example of how taxes are
redistributed after reassessment
The hypothetical town
of Mayville has only three properties, each with an
assessed value of $100,000. Properties there have
not been reassessed for a number of years. The
school tax levy for Mayville is $3,000.
How
is the $3,000 tax levy shared if Mayville
does NOT reassess?
Assessed
Value
Tax Rate per
$1,000 Assessed
Value
School Tax
Property A
$100,000
$10
$1,000
Property B
$100,000
$10
$1,000
Property C
$100,000
$10
$1,000
Total
$300,000
$3,000
How
might the $3,000 tax levy be redistributed
if Mayville DOES reassess?
If your assessment also increased by 50%,
your school taxes will probably increase by
the SAME percentage proposed in the new
school budget.