Reassessment Facts
Myths and misunderstandings in the wake of the Town of Rotterdam reassessment
There's a lot of misinformation about the recent Rotterdam reassessment, but don't believe everything you hear! Mohonasen wants to set the record straight, so read on.
Some people think Mohonasen is getting a "windfall" in new tax revenues. Not true!
Mohonasen is collecting 4.5 percent more in local school taxes this year than it did last year – exactly what voters approved at the May budget vote. What's changed is how that bill (the local tax levy) gets divided up among individual homeowners. The reassessment in the Town of Rotterdam – the first in more than 50 years – understandably caused big shifts in each homeowner's share of the tax bill. Some homeowners were over-assessed (in relationship to their neighbors' properties) for many years, and their school taxes are now going down. Others were under-assessed, and now their new assessments will require them to shoulder a bigger share of the tax levy. But the total school tax levy itself – the total amount Mohonasen collects from local residents – is still only increased by 4.5 percent, exactly as promised and exactly what voters approved.
Others think the disclosure letters send out by the Town and GAR would have been accurate if Mohonasen adopted a dual tax system (homestead and non-homestead). Again, not true.
The tax rate estimate used on the GAR notices was far off what the rate computed to be under EITHER a single or dual tax rate system. The final tax rates (which are computed by simply dividing the total tax levy by the total assessed value of properties in the town) came out to be $14.64 per thousand of assessed value (not $8.98 as predicted by GAR). Even if Mohonasen adopted a two-tier homestead and non-homestead tax rate, the non-commercial rate would still have been $14.04/thousand, only 60 cents less per thousand. Moreover, under the two-tier system, Rotterdam's small business owners would have paid a lot more: $18.14/thousand.
With some taxpayers seeing dramatic increases in their assessments and school tax bills, frustration is high. Some have called Mohonasen "greedy" and wonder why the district can't simply spend a lot less.
It may surprise some to know that Mohonasen
already spends less per student than 99 percent of school districts
around the state. In fact, the district was recently the subject of
a September 23, 2007 Times Union news story because out of 677
school districts in New York State, Mohonasen ranks THIRD FROM THE
BOTTOM IN PER PUPIL SPENDING. At the same time, our district ranks
WELL ABOVE THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. These two
facts should help dispel any myths that Mohonasen isn't already
working successfully to do more with less... and still provide the
community with a good return on its investment.
Click
here to find out more about the STAR program.
Click here to find out about grievance information.
