On to small-claims court
Views differ on assessment

NEW SCOTLAND – "Normanskill creek is not a babbling brook," said local property owner Sharon Boehlke to the town board at last Wednesday’s meeting.

Boehlke and her husband, Chester, own six acres on New Scotland South Road. The Normanskill runs through the back of their property, Boehlke said.

The Boehlkes were dissatisfied with the assessment of their property –part of the townwide revaluation – and took their complaints to the town first through an informal hearing, then a formal hearing, and finally to small claims court.

Julie Nooney, the town’s assessor, referred to the creek running through the Boehlkes’ property as a babbling brook that may be attractive to a perspective buyer, Boehlke said.

Boehlke argues that her property is beautiful, but the creek inhibits any further construction on the property because water or sewer lines cannot be installed within 100 feet of the creek.

There were 3,047 residential properties assessed in the town, 44 of which are being challenged in small claims court, Nooney told The Enterprise.

There are no commercial suits, she said. If there were commercial suits, though, those would be heard by the state’s Supreme Court, the lowest court in a three tiered system.

A property’s assessment is based upon comparisons to properties within a neighborhood.
Boehlke was concerned that Nooney compared her property to four homes that were not in her neighborhood. She also claims that six months after the assessment, the neighborhood she was being compared to "miraculously" changed.

Boehlke’s neighborhood is the same today as it was when the assessment was done, Nooney told The Enterprise.

The neighborhoods are determined based on factors such as style, size, and sale prices of the homes, Nooney said.
"A lot of people are confused by the term ‘neighborhood’," Nooney said. Many assessors have begun referring to neighborhoods as "market areas," she said.
"It’s not a science," Nooney said of the assessment process.

Boehlke told The Enterprise, "After the informal hearing, they reduced it, but no one told us."

She said that she received a letter stating that her assessment would not be reduced any further, but she had not received an original letter informing her of the reduction.

Nooney said that a clerical error was to blame for the Boehlkes’ not receiving the letter.

Boehlke was given copies of two letters from the town that were each dated May 1; both with reductions on her assessment, with figures differing by $8,600, Boehlke said.

The town of New Scotland web-site lists the property at 314 New Scotland South Rd, with a ranch-style home, at $258,600, which Boehlke confirmed as the original assessment.

That figure was $89,000 higher than the previous assessed value of her property, she said. Her assessed value was reduced by about $40,000 after the informal hearing, she told The Enterprise.
"I would like it reduced further," Boehlke said this week. "I’m willing to split the difference with them at this point," she said.

The Boehlkes appeared in small claims court with Nooney last Wednesday. The determination generally takes about two to three weeks, Boehlke said.
‘It’s a matter of a difference of opinion," Nooney said, regarding Boehlke’s assessment.

Other business

In other business, the town board at its November meeting,

– Authorized Supervisor Ed Clark to sign the 2007 renewal agreement with Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan for health-insurance coverage for town employees, and the 2006/2007 Service Award Program Service Fee Agreements for the New Salem and Onesquethaw fire protection districts. The contract is the same with the same estimated cost as last year;

– Adopted Local Law #8, allowing election costs to be listed on a separate line on the 2007 tax bills. There was no opposition at the public hearing held before the meeting;

– Scheduled public hearings for the December meeting regarding three new local laws and the Time Warner franchise agreement. At 6 p.m., a hearing will be held on Local Law #11, which would grant a partial tax exemption on property owned by senior citizens with limited incomes. At 6:05 p.m., a hearing will be held on Local Law #10, which would grant a partial tax exemption on property owned by people with limited incomes who are disabled. At 6:10 p.m., a hearing will be held on Local Law #9 regarding new building and fire codes. At 6:15 p.m., a hearing will be held on the Time Warner Franchise Agreement;

– Announced that Joseph Klink was hired as a mechanic for the highway department. He started work on Nov.13;

– Approved the membership of Joseph V. Dominski and Lawrence E. Fournier in the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company; and

– Approved the preparation and submission of a 2006 Quality Communities Grant application to the state with the provision that the board see the application before it is submitted. The board will decide later whether or not to accept the money, if it is awarded, and move forward with updating the town’s comprehensive land-use plan. The grant is one that is flexible, said Chuck Voss, who sits on the planning board, and is part of a committee of grant writers.
"This is a good opportunity to have money in our pockets," said Councilman Doug LaGrange, who chairs a committee that was to evaluate current zoning laws to see if a new comprehensive plan was needed.