GUILDERLAND — Some residents are still fired up over the town’s reassessment and now plan on taking their complaints to small claims court.

Guilderland completed a town-wide reassessment of property this year, where the value of the average home increased about 40 percent.

As the board of assessment review ended its consideration of 488 complaints aired on Grievance Day in May, only 47 — or 10 percent of the assessments — were reduced, Assessor Carol Wysomski told The Enterprise.

Attorney Warren Redlich and three of his Suzanne Lane neighbors were among those who were denied reductions. All four households plan on filing complaints in small claims court, Redlich said.

Kevin Forbes, chair of the board of assessment review, was out of town this week and could not be reached for comment on the board’s decisions. Other board members were also inaccessible.

Redlich, a Guilderland attorney who has run for pubic office and who has challenged the town on other issues, told The Enterprise this week of his frustration with the long lines and disorganization at Grievance Day.

Tuesday, May 24, the state-set day for citizens to contest their assessments, was chaotic at Guilderland Town Hall as hundreds of angry residents waited for hours to have two minutes each with the board of assessment review.

The board, which meets once a year on Grievance Day, acts as a safety-valve, allowing people to dispute their property values set by the town’s assessor.

From 8 a.m. until midnight on Grievance Day, 238 residents went before the Guilderland board. Another 250 people filed their grievances and did not wait to speak to the board.

While Redlich criticized the town for not preparing enough for Grievance Day, Wysomski said earlier that she expected it. This is because, after six years, Guilderland’s properties have been reassessed and at a shocking rate.

In March, Wysomski’s office was bombarded with calls and visits from people who were alarmed with the level of increase to their homes, since taxes are based on property values.

The Enterprise reported then on the informal hearings Wysomski had scheduled for residents. Nearly 600 people came to her office and she explained to them how she came up with their assessments, she said.

The 488 people not satisfied with this, however, chose to come to Grievance Day.

For the past five years, the average home in Guilderland has been assessed at $125,000, Wysomski said earlier. The new average is about $180,000, she said.
"The market is up because interest rates are down," Wysomski said of the reason for the large increase. "I have 1,200-square-foot ranches in Westmere that were $119,000 that are now $180,000."

A review of Guilderland’s new assessment roll — which is available on the town’s website — shows that almost all properties have increased in value; very few have decreased or remained the same. Overall, the tax base has increased by about $800 million, Wysomski said earlier.

Of the residents whose assessments have increased, a third will have their taxes increase, a third will have lower taxes, and a third will pay the same tax rate as now, Wysomski said.

Revaluation is fair, Wysomski explained, because, without it, as newcomers move to a town, they pay taxes based on the price they paid for their property while parcels that haven’t sold recently usually remain at a lower rate, skewing the tax rolls.

Assessment changes

Every May, the town-appointed board of assessment review meets on Grievance Day, the fourth Tuesday of the month, to hear from residents who believe their assessments are not accurate.

The board then spends the next several weeks reviewing each homeowners’ information. The board decides if it agrees with Wysomski’s assessment or if it will lower the resident’s property value.
Asked why the board made the changes it did, Wysomski said, "It was probably incorrect data. Some people had some other information to submit to the board. Some got appraisals. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t...The board was maybe a little more compassionate..."

A total of $1,117,000 in assessments were reduced, when all 47 of the changed values are combined, Wysomski said. This was expected and will not have a big impact on the town, she said.

Redlich, who lives on Suzanne Lane, had his assessment raised from $183,000 to $268,000. His three neighbors, with homes similar to his, had their values raised even more, he said.

Redlich’s argument is that another neighbor bought a larger house two years ago for $210,000. That should be the standard price for similar houses now, he said.

"A hurdle"

Redlich — who challenged United States Congressman Michael McNulty on the Republican ticket last year and was soundly defeated, and, a few years ago, ran and lost for town board — has fought the town of Guilderland before.

In April of 2003, Redlich began using an office for his law practice at 1736-A Western Ave. The owner of the building, Shaw Rabadi, was later cited by the town’s zoning enforcement officer for Redlich’s not applying for a special-use permit for his business. He was also cited for not requesting a building permit or certificate of occupancy.

Rabadi and Redlich, his lawyer at the time, maintained that the town has too much power and shouldn’t force them to get an unnecessary permit. They filed a lawsuit against the town in December of 2003 with the Supreme Court, the lowest-level court in the state’s three-tiered system.

The judge ruled in favor of Rabadi on his objections to the building permit and certificate-of-occupancy citations. Of the special-use permit, however, the judge ruled that Rabadi would have to apply for one. Redlich told The Enterprise that he wanted to appeal this ruling, but Rabadi, whom he no longer represents, decided just to apply for the permit.

Redlich admitted this week that he has a cynical view of Grievance Day. While he waited for hours to go before the board of assessment review, he said he knew his assessment wouldn’t be changed.
"The whole process to me is a hurdle to make people jump over," Redlich said. Residents often get discouraged and would rather accept their assessments than wait to be heard on Grievance Day, he said.

Redlich said the board of assessment review can’t fairly consider each grievance because it has so many.
Of taking his complaint to small claims court, Redlich said, "Finally, an independent person will review it."

It costs $30 to file a small-claims complaint; applications are due by the end of the month.