ROTTERDAM -- The protracted legal battle between the town and a Buffalo-area firm that presided over a 2005 revaluation is over. The Town Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to drop the lawsuit it filed in 2009, about two years after GAR Associates, Inc. finished the reassessment.
At the time, the previous administration had contended they found problems with the way GAR recorded the town's residential inventory and that in some cases GAR left large plots of land off the rolls.
The company, which officials say received about $1 million in to do the revaluation, denied the allegations and pointed to the fact that the state Office of Real Property Tax Services put its stamp of approval on the revaluation paving the way for Rotterdam to collect tens of thousands of dollars in state reimbursements. The 2007 town-wide assessment brought the town up to full market value of assessed properties after being at 2.95 percent for years.
"It was just a screwed up deal," said Supervisor Francis Del Gallo, noting Thursday that GAR didn't do anything wrong and has agreed to drop the countersuit.
Town Attorney Joseph Liccardi, said Thursday that the lawsuit, which cost the town $46,000, "was lacking in merit."
The lawsuit cost the town an addition $46,00 in legal fees, according to the resolution.
In their countersuit, GAR contended the town failed to provide the clerical support it promised as part of the deal. Does this mean that the assessor at the time the REVAL was done didn't provide the information that GAR needed to do a proper job?
The Tommasone Admin refused to assign additional clerical staff at Town Hall as outlined in the contract. The assessor at the time and two staff members ended up getting the Town the 60K in state aid that Steve and crew used for a frivolous lawsuit and used that same aid to dole out pay raises to other favored department heads. Mertz. And Signore tried to raise their own council salary with that state aid.
All's well that ends well. Go Harry!! Oh and for what its worth; the lawyer who Gerard hired to sue GAR was the same dude who negotiated Surprise's buyout deal. Talk about quid pro quo! WOW. How much of that 60k went back to the GOP. Check out the list of donors. You might be SURPRISED!!!!
Bottom line is that there are many homes in rotterdam that where either under or over assessed or not assessed at all. There were issues with the past assessor, the last assessor and now the past/present assessor!
So the rotterdamians are stuck with their botched reval.........poor bastards!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Just think it only cost the taxpayers about 1 million dollars to get shafted and will continue to be that way until another REVAL is done and maybe this time they'll get it right.
At least we aren't stuck with Mertz Tommasone Parisi and Signore anymore. These are the idiots who BLEW thousands on frivolous lawsuits and pay to play. Bring in the Feds eh Bumble. Perhaps? HeeHaw
Just think it only cost the taxpayers about 1 million dollars to get shafted and will continue to be that way until another REVAL is done and maybe this time they'll get it right.
They DID NOT get it correct. And 2 ASSessors later............rotterdamians are still getting the shaft!!
And don't look for a reval any too soon. Not while the homes are worth less!!!!
It's hard to sell your home when the taxes are not reflective of it's lower value due to this housing mess.
Like I said............rotterdamians..............poor bastards!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
the reval needed to be done a generation ago.....BEFORE GE got shafted....do I feel sorry for GE-----absolutely not....they can go where ever they want to go.....the town was riding a wave and filling trunks and basements with barrels of $$$......so here we sit with the effects left by the gumba gangstas......NOW LETS CLEAN THE SH!T UP!!!!!!
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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