GAR signs contract with the Town of Pleasant Valley in Dutchess County to assist in the town wide reassessment.
Pleasant Valley Preps for Property Revaluations
"For the first time in 16 years, the whole town is getting a revaluation. Property owners in Pleasant Valley will soon receive inventory surveys in the mail that they must fill out and return. GAR Associates Inc., an Albany-based real estate appraisal firm hired by the town, is to mail the surveys.
In recent years, a number of cities, towns and villages have undertaken revaluations. Of the 32 towns, villages and cities in Dutchess County, only six municipalities have equalization rates below Pleasant Valley's 53 percent, according to 2009 data from the state Office of Real Property Services. Keeping assessments at 100 percent ensures the property will be valued at or near the market value. This allows for a more equitable distribution of the tax burden, officials say.
The town and GAR are asking property owners for assistance in completing the information on the survey, said Sheri Casabella, GAR project coordinator. In May, GAR staff members will begin inspecting the exterior of homes, collecting the data to be used in new appraisals. They will use laser measuring devices and take digital photographs of the exteriors.
This year, the Town Board adopted a resolution to revalue all the properties in town in an effort to create fair and equitable property assessments at 100 percent of market value for the 2011 tax roll. "It was past due," said Pleasant Valley Supervisor John McNair, a Republican. "Now that the property values have seemed to hit bottom, timing in life is everything."
Town Assessor Teresa Stegner said GAR staff would not ask to enter residents' homes. Homeowners, she said, can request staff to come inside. But Town Councilman Christopher Hart, a Republican, is recommending residents, especially seniors, not invite anyone inside.
The Town Board voted in February to hire GAR at a maximum cost of $275,000. The board opted to borrow the money and pay back the loan over several years. This is intended to avoid a spike in the the town tax rate that would result from paying off the entire loan in one year. "That helps us maintain our town budget over the next few years," Hart said.
Pleasant Valley last had a townwide revaluation of all properties in 1994. The town currently has an equalization rate of 52 percent, which indicates that the assessed values of most properties are just over half the market value.
GAR staff will have proper identification on them during the field inspections, Casabella said. The Town Assessor's Office and local police agencies would have a list of all vehicles being used by staff members. Stegner said she would also be in the field, collecting data for the reassessment. As part of the effort to keep property owners informed throughout the project, GAR and the assessor will hold two public workshops this month. These will be the first of a series of workshops."
Poughkeepsie Journal
May 2010