Joint meeting brings capacity crowd

Towns of Highland and Lumberland tackle tax issues together

By SANDY LONG

ELDRED, NY — The towns of Highland and Lumberland took their first steps toward opening communication to better serve the joint interests of the towns, which share a school system and seemingly chronic tax-related complaints.

“The purpose of our joint meeting was to bring neighboring town boards together to better understand the existing common needs of our citizens,” said Highland supervisor Tina Palecek, who initiated the measure. “Identifying commonalities and ways to best serve our citizens helps each board to fulfill our responsibilities as local leaders.”

The meeting got off to a cooperative start, then stumbled over an initial misunderstanding of its purpose. Following clarification, Palecek and Lumberland supervisor John LiGreci both stressed that while the aim was to explore possibilities for combined opportunities, each town will remain a distinct entity.

One clear point of agreement was the towns need to find relief from their escalating tax burdens. “We all agree the taxing system is not favorable for our communities and radical changes need to be made before our constituents receive any type of relief,” said Palecek.

Considerable discussion occurred regarding the towns’ level of assessment. John Wolham of the New York State Office of Real Property Services answered questions and described the Coordinated Assessment Program (CAP), which allows two or more assessing units to merge their assessing function while retaining individual identities.

According to Wolham, towns participating in a CAP share a common level of assessment, as well as an assessor. They also receive consolidation aid up to $7 per parcel, but are penalized with a pro-rated payback if they withdraw from the program earlier than the 10-year minimum. The CAP determines its own level of assessment.

As the boards debated the related issue of property valuation, Highland councilman Robert Burrows said, “We need to change the way a property is valued. Right now, it’s based on what an avid realtor can get for a property, not on its actual value.” LiGreci agreed, asking, “Whatever happened with appraisal of what properties are actually worth today?” LiGreci also argued for separating the school tax from the real estate tax.

Additional discussion occurred around the possibilities of combining shared services such as the tax assessor’s and dog warden’s positions, but no conclusions were reached and such issues will be addressed at future joint meetings.

Eventually, the boards agreed that they would not continue to consider a CAP, and must agree upon a level of assessment by January 2009. Both boards agreed to research matters further and expressed willingness to continue working together.