Now here is another thing and this has less to do with the reassessment and more to do with the STAR stuff.

There is STAR Basic and there is STAR Enhanced.  Basic is for homeowners under age 65 and for those over age 65 with incomes exceeding that $60,000 something threshhold.   Enhanced is for seniors over age 65 but income under that $60,000 something threshhold.  The seniors in effect would have to apply for the Enhanced every year because it is income based (I think there is some connection with the tax dept now to get the info without application, but then there are the seniors who do not have to file taxes because income is so low).

And the idea behind the Enhanced was go give the elderly on fixed (and somewhat lower) incomes a break over the young folks (who in theory would have higher incomes and be able to seek a second job if needed--granted, some will get a second job in order to own a home, but if you need a second job just to pay the taxes, wow!).

Now look at the rebate thing.  The seniors who have Enhanced will just get the rebate, they don't have to do anything.  In the Mohon district their rebate wil be $297.  But the younger people will be getting a windfall with a rebate of $380....and they will have to apply for it as it is income based (smaller rebates for higher incomes)

So look at this.  Put this in perspective.  Is this an administrative nightmare?   STAR program gives us a lower tax BILL than without the STAR program.  Now, the elderly people on fixed income get an even lower tax BILL by applying for it.   Now we have the REBATE program.  The elderly on fixed income automatically get it.  The younger people with incomes under a certain threshhold get a rebate bigger than the elderly, as long as they apply for it.

And think of STAR when it started.  The tax BILL might have been $1,000.   After STAR the tax bill is $800 and the state sends a check for the $200 difference to the school district.  And now, almost ten years later our tax BILL with both STAR and the STAR Rebate still probably has us spending more than the $1,000 before STAR.

I think it's time for the state to take it over, let it be part of income taxes and business taxes.  That way people who live in tax exempt housing will pay for their kids to be educated.  YOu know those people in public housing don't contribute to the cost of their childrens' education.

And who knows, if they start contributing to their kids' education, maybe they will take an interest in it and pay attention to where the money goes.  Look at all of us who pay the school tax bill, we see kids who don't graduate, we see crumbling schools, but by gollly, they have luxurious swimming pools

Ms.Savage wouldn't hear of that I'm sure....undo pressure.....(in some cases, yes)....

there is a very very strange thing that happens called "keeping up with the Jones"......now normally it would mean keeping up, even if you cant pay your mortgage......but, there IS a polar side to that......if the government pays for their housing/schooling/education etc, then, I deserve it too-let me spend down(although no one actually states that)......envy and covetousness is not a good thing.......

as for letting 'The State' do it.......HA....they are busy in the gambling business.....

where are the state income taxes folks filed last year??? There are paid public workers who's job it is to 'find' things in filing(I worked at SEFCU, I've seen the people).....go look up my income taxes and forward me my 'rebate'(HA) check.....dont waste my time......... >

Come on, my house is 15 years old, I bought it 2.5 years ago...school taxes were 3,000.....now 4900.. help me with that one...people are talking about a couple hundred bucks a year, when I am all done I will see a couple hundred a MONTH.....Make sense to anyone....Help me with some reasons Rotterdam is worth those $$$$$

I feel your pain Biaggio, mine went up $600. None of the residents are getting what we should for the money we pay.

First let me say that there is something I just don't understand. There are seniors out there who pay 'nothing' for school tax due to their lower income. And I do not have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is that they STILL receive a rebate check. For what? They have paid nothing toward the school tax burden. Again, I don't have a problem with them being exempt from paying anything, but I certainly do have a problem with them receiving a rebate check. Explain that one NYS!!

Also, with the new assessment and increased taxes, we have no one to blame but our past administrations and OURSELVES. Did all of us REALLY think that our assessments were going to stay the same as they have for the last 50+ years. That mentality is obsurd!! And it was also obsurd, in hindsight, to think that the people who governed us were doing what was in our best interest. Clearly, the lack of decisions that were made in the past have come back to bite us in the a**. And now this present administration is taking the heat for it. DON'T FAULT THIS ADMINISTRATION! They were left this mess to deal with!

Well my dear friends, next time you are in our beloved town hall, go to the wall that displays all of our past supervisors and say 'thank you' for the mess they have all left us in!

Quoted from biaggio

Come on, my house is 15 years old, I bought it 2.5 years ago...school taxes were 3,000.....now 4900.. help me with that one...people are talking about a couple hundred bucks a year, when I am all done I will see a couple hundred a MONTH.....Make sense to anyone....Help me with some reasons Rotterdam is worth those $$$$$

Have you gone to town hall about your taxes? It does seem a bit high to me too.

Quoted from biaggio

Come on, my house is 15 years old, I bought it 2.5 years ago...school taxes were 3,000.....now 4900.. help me with that one...people are talking about a couple hundred bucks a year, when I am all done I will see a couple hundred a MONTH.....Make sense to anyone....Help me with some reasons Rotterdam is worth those $$$$$

The state wants you to go to get that refund.....they are 'flexing' their political pandering muscle...."oh, fill out these forms, we want to make sure you are in that middle class so we can help you,,blah blah blah".....you will have to wait for the rebate check....then apply it to your school tax bill......

robbing Peter to pay Paul

STAR
STATE
TAXES
APPLIED
RECTALLY

all for campaigning.....it's just smoke being blown up our #$@.....

what do we say???  SHOW US THE MONEY TRAIL........

On the flip side it bodes well that the 'value' is higher rather than lower....education is important in our town,,,therefore good education will attract the educated and those seeking education and self improvement for themselves and their children now or future children....

Rotterdam IS worth it...we make it worth it....we pay for it....it is our value....

if you go to any website about other towns(anywhere USA) school taxes and how important the town/city etc thinks education is, is a desirable factor.....STAR just screws it up(that is state corruption).....

Town hall is not the place to complain about school taxes, that would be the school district.  

Contact your school district and find out what they are spending money on.  Get a copy of the budget itself.  See what expenses are listed.  Salaries, benefits, (sorry I think that is all set in law even though we may all think they get too much), heating bills, phone bills, books, desks, computers, toilet paper, soap, busses, gasoline for buses, replacement fan belts for buses (and other parts that need replacement), chlorine for the swimming pool, light bulbs, chalk and erasers (is that still used?), pens and pencils, security cameras, metal detectors, staples for the staplers, conferences/conventions, basketballs, baseballs, sports uniforms, etc.

Then look at the income side and see where the income comes from.  If we assume the best, then income from state and federal, usage fees from privates using buildings, grants if any, all that is applied against the expenses first, and after that is applied, the amount that needs to be collected in school taxes, that is the tax levy, would be determined, and the levy is divided by the number of taxable properties to figure the tax rate.

So what could be cut in the school expenses to reduce their budget?  Eliminate transportation, then how do kids get to school.  Eliminate sports but the people say the kids have nothing to do.  Eliminate replacement parts for buses but then how to kids get to school.  Eliminate books, well, common sense.  Eliminate toilet paper, now that would be creative, they can recycle the napkins used during lunch.  

But seriously, the question is back in May did you (no one poster in particular) review the budget carefully, question the board, attend board meetings and ask “why” an expense was needed, and then did you vote?

Now, town hall is the place to complain about the assessment value of your house.   Were similar houses around you selling for roughly what your assessment value is?  Did they assess your house for , say $200,000 but no houses for a half mile radius sold for more than $150,000?  If such a case occurred, did you grieve your assessment?  Did you file a small claims review?  Did you go beyond that?  In other words did you exhaust all possibilities if indeed your house was assessed for more than houses were selling for?

That is all your “examination of consience” for lack of a better term.  Everyone should examine there own.  I don’t like the taxes either.  We carefully reviewed our assessment in comparison with others on our street.  We checked out actual sale prices and in fact how long houses were on the market.  We knew we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if we tried to claim we were overassessed.  So town hall is not the place of complaint for us.  Yes, we voted in the budget vote.  But did you ever notice how low the turnouts are for school board and school budget votes.

Quoted Text

But did you ever notice how low the turnouts are for school board and school budget votes.

BINGO....

a valued school, with value, a high graduation rate is not a bad thing to live around or to own property around, it would behoove the community to hold them at high standards for all.....

involved community, involved parents, involved schools, involved kids, solid posterity........

okay....all good things, but a 1900 increase in school taxes...PLEASE......I guess you didnt get hit so hard....57%.....I have only been here 2.5 years and my assessment went up 70,000........I agrre with the value, not the rate....dont forgrt when we were first notified the rate was 8.40 +++ now it turns out to be 14.50++ per thousand...

lets see what happens with our town tax......

We refinanced to a lower rate 2years ago and had our house reassessed,,,,we didn't want any surprises not to mention to have a house whose assessed value is in front of your eyes, you know where you stand,where your going/or not, what your doing etc......I dont like surprises.....so there wasn't a big jump, I was up there already...straight up, straight forward--even if I dont like it, otherwise who would I be kidding, I'm certainly no Gates or Golub----just like I expect those we elect to be.....straight forward.....then I would know where my community stands.....

I do agree with you biag. I could see the huge increase in your assessment IF you have lived there for decades. But 2.5years? Something don't seem right. Unless, the houses in Rotterdam were way underpriced as compared to other areas. So when they did the reval, they brought everyone's house up to current market value.

Well biag, I guess you could sell  your house now and make a chunk of a profit right? I mean that is what they seem to be saying here.  You should be able to sell your house and walk away with an extra $70Grand, huh?

sure...if I could I would....

I know for an absolute fact, that if I had that kind of an increase in my assessment, I'd be on the phone with every realestate company in the area and tell them that I was 'interested' in selling, just to see what they would list it for. If most came in less.....I'd be at that town hall quicker than you could say SOLD! I REALLY WOULD!