Quote from AVON:
My aunt lives in Bigsbee Village.  She told me her neighbor heard of an existing tax rebate and went to see the assessor to find out if they were entitled to a refund.  She claims her neighbor was refunded hundreds of dollars.  It had something to do with the reassessment and condo owners.  Her neighbor said the rebate is only good for Mohonasen School District because of the non-homestead status.  I am passing this information on to get the word to other condo owners in Mohonasen so they can check with the Town Assessor to find out if they also might be entitled to a similar refund.  Sounds as though it is well worth looking into!

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I verified the above with a Bigsbee condo owner and they will be receiving approximately $400 from Mohonasen School District for the years of 2007 and 2008.  There was a condo exemption that was not implemented back in 2007 at the time of the reval (thank you to the former assessor for this mistake).  If the condo owner comes into the Assessor's office and requests their refund, the paperwork will be generated so the refund can be issued by the school district.  

It is my opinion that this should be done automatically by the Assessor or someone within the Town admin.  How would the condo owners even know about this type of refund?   Only in Rotterdam would this be kept a secret!!!

One last detail, if the condo owner waits too long, the 2007 and eventually the 2008 refund will expire and cannot be paid out.     SO IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO OWNS A CONDO IN BIGSBEE VILLAGE, SEND THEM TO THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE SOON!  

thanks for the info. I know 2 people who live there. although I find it unfortunate that these people never knew and were never told. scary!

We were told it was the state that screwed up. What took Surprise so long to fix it?  Three years of accumulated over charges and it was the former assessor's fault?  I don't buy it.  Sounds like Surprise screwed up and is still blaming GAR and JM.  Scary!  

the bigger issue is where our our elected board officials who are "for the residents" on this issue

i guess the campaign donations were not large enough

in Rotterdam you get what you pay for

Quoted from 487

We were told it was the state that screwed up. What took Surprise so long to fix it?  Three years of accumulated over charges and it was the former assessor's fault?  I don't buy it.  Sounds like Surprise screwed up and is still blaming GAR and JM.  Scary!  

If it was all "Surprise's fault" - why isn't the new administration doing something about it - why haven't they gone to the press to announce this ...

Something stinks. Me thinks it's germinating from Town Hall

This is just typical rotterdam! It's the norm. It's the laughing stock.

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Condo owners may be due tax refunds
235 properties were charged too much
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Condominium owners living in the Mohonasen Central School District could be owed a signifi cant refund on their property taxes.
    Rotterdam Assessor Craig Surprise said an error in coding that occurred sometime after the 2007 revaluation led to about 235 condominium owners being charged too much on their school taxes. He said the confusion in coding apparently occurred when Mohonasen and the neighboring Schalmont district were contemplating dual tax rates.
    “We’re correcting a mistake,” he said Monday.
    Schalmont adopted a dual tax rate structure to help mitigate the impact on residential property owners after the completion of Rotterdam’s revaluation in 2007. Mohonasen opted against the split rate, in part because it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the mostly residential district with only a small number of commercial properties.
    Somehow, condominiums in the Mohonasen district were coded wrong under a dual tax structure that was never adopted. As a result, Surprise said most of them did not receive a proper exemption in both 2007 and 2008.
    Surprise caught the problem last year and has since corrected it. However, he said, out of all the possible condominium owners that overpaid, only two have come in to the assessor’s offi ce for refunds.
    “I didn’t get one phone call,” he said.
    District officials in Mohonasen estimate they may have received as much as $250,000 in overpayments. The new coding also dropped the district’s total assessed value by about $8.5 million, district spokeswoman Adrienne Leon said.
    The instances of overpayment aren’t expected to have much of an impact on Mohonasen’s budget, since the district keeps reserves on hand to settle tax cases. However, she said, the district will need to see how many residents apply for refunds.
    “Obviously, it’s all relative,” she said. “But we’re not anticipating a budget crisis because of this.”
    Unfortunately, Surprise said, state law precludes the town from automatically giving refunds to affected residents. He said residents need to fi ll out paperwork at the assessor’s office and then have the claim approved by the county before any money can be dispersed.
    And time to apply for the refund is running out, too. Condominium owners have until the end of August to get money back from the 2007 overpayment. ....................>>>>................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00103&AppName=1

Unfortunately, Surprise said, state law precludes the town from automatically giving refunds to affected residents. He said residents need to fill out paperwork at the assessor’s office and then have the claim approved by the county before any money can be dispersed.

And time to apply for the refund is running out, too. Condominium owners have until the end of August to get money back from the 2007 overpayment.

                       So the law precludes the automatic refunds, but didn't preclude the notification to property owners that were overtaxed.  Sounds like major damage control when they got caught with their pants down!  Good Job Clark Kent . . . .

...on behalf of a homeowner there- I went in and was told that almost everyone has contacted them and for the few that haven't, they are going to send them a letter. So apparently that idea about NOT being able to notify resident is BS.

Surprise is fulla crap and he knows it.  HE changed those codes and I am told there is pages of documents inadvertinly forwarded to the loyal opposition that will result in his demise.  Stay tuned!

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

...on behalf of a homeowner there- I went in and was told that almost everyone has contacted them and for the few that haven't, they are going to send them a letter. So apparently that idea about NOT being able to notify resident is BS.

GB - do you know if it is only the Bigsbee condo owners who will be getting a refund?  I know someone from Morning Glory condos who was told that they "already received it".

Quoted from 487

Surprise is fulla crap and he knows it.  HE changed those codes and I am told there is pages of documents inadvertinly forwarded to the loyal opposition that will result in his demise.  Stay tuned!

.......as rotterdam sh!thole turns.

It's just so pathetic....it's funny. This (dem) administration is trying to show how bad the last (rep) administration was, while this present (dem) administration is a laughing stock who can barely keep the TH together, and the bad reps are lovin it!! This has been going on for decades......it's just sooooo rotterdam! Entertaining at best!

Gee, makes one wonder when they all have time to do the 'people's business'!!!

No, this was for the Helderberg White Birch condos.