NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE

ALBANY

October 5, 2017

Hon. Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of New York State
NYS Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:

New Yorkers across the state have benefitted greatly from the predictability afforded to them by
the two-percent property tax increase cap, and we commend you for your leadership on holding
the line on property tax increases. In order for property taxes in New York to be fair, families
should be able to plan their budgets and to reasonably anticipate their property tax liability. The
issue of predictability of tax liability is why we are writing to you today: many of our
constituents who live in the Town of Guilderland, but live outside of the Guilderland School
District, recently saw tax bills that reflected serious increases over last year. This was caused, in
large part, by a dramatic decrease in their equalization rate, which was unsuccessfully appealed
by the Town of Guilderland to the State Board of Real Property Tax Services.

While there were many factors leading up to this large tax increase, and we recognize that
Guilderland could have revalued properties on a more consistent basis (and the Town has now
authorized a revaluation), we have identified several concerns with procedures followed in the
appeals and rate setting processes of the Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS). One of
the most serious of these concerns is that the appeal was not finalized until just over a week
before tax bills were to be issued, leaving taxpayers (and us as legislators) blindsided by this
increase. A survey from this January by Bankrate found that only forty-one percent of Americans
could afford an unexpected cost of just $500, while some property tax increases in this case were
well over $1,000.

We will be proposing legislation to attempt to mitigate this problem in the future and would
welcome your support. We are exploring the following legislative changes: requiring ORPTS to
finalize appeals of equalization rates sooner; using separate segment equalization rates for these
particular portions of Guilderland for school tax purposes; and requiring that taxpayers be given
advance notification of major changes in their equalization rates which could have a potential
impact on their tax liability.

In addition to these measures, we have identified several areas for potential administrative
improvement of the equalization rate setting process, and we recommend the following:

A large equalization rate change, perhaps more than five percent, should trigger an
internal review. This review could include the selection of a larger sample of commercial
 properties. In the case of Guilderland, only eleven commercial properties were used in
samples for the purposes of setting the equalization rate (out of 405 commercial
properties). ORPTSs commercial rate means that the value of the Towns commercial
property increased by a whopping 35% in two years (while the nationally reported trend
is only 1 to 2%).

The method for sampling commercial properties for the purposes of setting the
equalization rate should be changed to mirror the types of properties in the municipality.
Currently, ORPTS selects these properties randomly at different value intervals. In the
case of Guilderland, four of the highest valued properties in the town were selected out of
eleven total properties. Three of these were apartment complexes, which have proven to
be the most appreciating types of commercial properties in the last few years.
Consequently, the selection of three apartment complexes as a share of eleven total
properties in Guilderland may not be an accurate mirroring of the makeup of commercial
properties in the town, and would suggest that 27 percent of commercial properties in
Guilderland are large apartment complexes, which is not the case. While we support the
random selection of properties at different value intervals, we would suggest that the
sample parcel selections for the purposes of revaluation be done in a way that accurately
reflects the portfolio of commercial properties in a municipality.

We have been in contact with your office, as well as representatives from NYS Department of
Taxation and Finance, and have appreciated their assistance and responsiveness on these
concerns and recommendations. This is especially timely because officials in the Town of
Guilderland have expressed serious concerns that the equalization rate in 2018 may decrease
even further, leading to an additional increase in property taxes for these residents. While the
Town accepts that it must make improvements to its assessment roll, we are trying to take steps
to protect residential taxpayers from being negatively affected in the again next year. The large
increases in last months school tax bills shocked hundreds of taxpayers, many of whom are
scrambling to pay their tax bills within the statutory 30 days.

We stand with you in your commitment to reducing the burden of property taxes and ensuring
fairness to all taxpayers. We hope to work with you to address the concerns we have outlined
here in a timely fashion. We look forward to hearing your response, and sincerely thank you for
your consideration.

Sincerely,

Assemblymember Patricia Fahy Senator George Amedore

109th Assembly District 46th Senate District

cc: Hon. John Flanagan, Temporary President & Majority Leader of the New York State Senate
Hon. Carl Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Hon. Kathy Marchione, Chair, Senate Committee on Local Government
Hon. Sandra Galef, Chair, Assembly Committee on Real Property Taxation
Nonie Manion, Executive Deputy Commissioner, NYS Department of Taxation & Finance
Hon. Peter Barber, Supervisor, Town of Guilderland
Shawn MacKinnon, Secretary, New York State Senate Finance Committee