To the Editor:

I stand corrected on my letter to the editor from last week regarding Westerlo and my personal tax-assessment views. I just had a great talk with Pete Hotaling, the Westerlo assessor, and he clearly explained why “new” residents might feel that way.

Many times what happens, the house is sold when a resident moves out and then the deductions that resident had do not carry over to the new resident who now thinks he got taken advantage of (also known as Welcome Stranger).

If the newcomers talk to the assessor, he would explain the past owner may have had several deductions that no longer apply to that particular property. Items like veterans discounts, School Tax Relief known as STAR, elderly discounts, and even farm discounts (if it is not being farmed by the new resident).

On top of that, many new property owners tear down the house on the property and build a new one, which changes the tax assessment completely, but many people think it’s the property and not what’s on it.

Pete says he is always happy to talk to any resident and perhaps even change their assessment if necessary. Some years, he says, they might have 10 people on Grievance Day but many times there is no one. Not sure if everyone is aware of Grievance Day and you can call the assessor’s office to find out when it is and the exact date you have to file your grievance in March to be heard.

Pete also explained how the reassessments work and how it remains fair for everyone in the town. Yes, the new bigger houses will be assessed higher than a 100-year-old house that has been deteriorating for years and, if someone new buys that old home, Pete will work with them on the proper assessment.

I had to agree since 25 years ago I found my home had been assessed as a “2 story stick house” when it’s a double wide on a crawl-space foundation. I was re-assessed immediately and they can go back three years and correct that.

So check your tax bill to see how you are taxed!

Another good tip he gave me is, if you get a letter saying you are re-assessed, go see him as soon as it arrives and don’t wait to receive your tax bill and have a breakdown!

I didn’t realize all this and will now go back to the people who complained to us who felt they were appraised unfairly and explain how that can happen and encourage them to speak to the assessor.  

I apologize to Pete for my misinterpretation.     

Betty Filkins

Westerlo

Editor’s note: “Welcome stranger” refers to a tax-assessment method that discriminates against newcomers in favor of long-term landowners because property is reassessed when it is sold; the tax assessment does not increase if it is retained by the same owner.

New property owners should not expect tax exemptions given to a previous owner to apply to them nor should they expect improvements won’t be taxed. That is not the meaning of “Welcome stranger.”

Municipalities in New York are advised by the state to go through property revaluation every five years. Westerlo hasn’t had a town-wide property revaluation in decades. Westerlo’s state-set equalization rate is less than 1 percent of full-market value, by far the lowest in the county.

When a town revalues all of its properties, some people will pay more and some people will pay less, but the tax burden will be fairly distributed based on the full-market value of each property.