Quoted from Shadow

The city of Schenectady needs to go bankrupt, have the state appoint someone that can see the problems that have been created by years of mismanagement, and last, take a look at the pension/health-care benefits that the city can no longer pay. All the city administrators are afraid to do what has to be done for the city to survive so someone from the outside has to be brought in to make the tough choices. There's no easy fix to something that has taken many years to create due to promises made to friends and family to play in the political arena.

OK, agreed.  But isn't there a tipping point that has already been passed that would alert government of the downward slide?  Isn't it beytter to intervene sooner rather than later?  Seems illegal to hold property owners feet to the fire when no one holds the government's feet to the fire.

Quoted from AVON

So, admittedly, you have proven your point beyond a reasonable doubt!  The second part of the equation is, What options are available to the homeowners in the City?  If they can't sell their home, and they need the equity to move, then they are trapped.  If the illegal taxation without representation, or at least under the false pretense of economic development via Metrograft, absent a federal investigation (much like what is occurring in the State Legislature), how do the tax rates get realigned so it is equitable?  Everyone in the City in mass has to grieve their taxes, and those in the know need to publish some type of brochure to guide them how to do it successfully!

Could be the fed investigation or like shadow said, a bankruptcy.   Something has got to happen.

Glad I don't live in the city to have to live it, but even beyond the city, everyone in the county is paying higher county property taxes than should be because we are paying the county taxes for the dem political cronies owning buildings downtown.   It's just spread out more.

The two most important things would be to:

1.   Abolish metroplex, NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE gets any handouts from the financially struggling taxpayers to develop anything downtown.   Galesi gets so much yet he is so filthy rich that he could have totally done all the re-doing downtown out of his own pocket AND pay full taxes and fees on all his properties AND he could pay the taxes of ALL homeowners in the city, probably even the county and after paying all that, he could STILL live like a royal

2.   Beginning with Jan 2014 eliminate ALL tax exemptions for downtown and/or metroplex project properties AND that includes Proctors.   We who are intelligent know full well that Proctors is 100% a FOR PROFIT business.   If it means King Philip has to take a pay cut so be it, as his salary IS being paid a line item in the county budget ("covered up" because it doesn't specifically state it the money goes to pay his salary, but the two handouts from the county ARE roughly the equivalent of his salary, so, even a 2nd grader in school can figure out that the taxpayers are paying his salary, and the homeowners, especially those in the city are NOT getting ANYTHING in return for those tax dollars because Proctors is NOT doing ONE TEENY WEENY LITTLE THING to improve the city's tax base or home values nor entice people to move here.

Then there is the issue of city employees living outside the city

Then there's the issue of a dem mayor and a dem council (except one), NONE of whom put the taxpayers first over the political cronies, well, Erickson sometimes things of the taxpayers.


The city MUST IMMEDIATELY commence a citywide reassessment.  However, even if it started today, it would NOT affect the tax bills until the school tax bills for 2014-15 school year and for the city/county taxes it would not affect those tax bills until January 2015, yes, can you believe any change would be that far into the future.     Do the work, the tentative assessments would be public May 1, 2014, final roll July 1, 2014, in time for bill dates mentioned.

But then, a reassessment would only reduce the values to reflect their true value.   A reassessment--of course it would be DOWNWARD--would actually result in quite an increase in taxes for many homeowners.   The people who have grieved, actually went beyond the assessment board level, they have won reductions and have seen their tax bills go down.  When the rest of the city assessments are reduced, then the tax bills have to increase.  If you and me have identical houses, we are assessed the same, we each pay $1,000 in our tax bill, then I successfully get my house assessment reduced, and you did not grieve, then the tax rate rises you pay more in your bill, my bill has gone down because my assessment is lower.  When a total reassessment occurs, your assessment is reduced, once again, our houses will be assessed the same (in theory) and we would pay the same tax bills again.

What is in place right now is that the assessment roll is so out of whack because some owners have grieved and many others have not.   Those who did take that action and won have assessments more reflective of the lower home values.  Thus those who have not grieved have assessments higher than the value of their house and there when the tax rate is calculated based on the assessment, those with higher assessments pay higher taxes than those people with comparable houses who successfully grieved.


The best suggestion, get rid of the dems in the city!

Most of the Broadway theaters are for-profit businesses, I've learned. Granted, they may be larger and thus able to sell more tickets, but I'm wondering why with the tax exemption and volunteer staff, Proctor's can't at least break even. Or how they can buy other venues with the profit they don't have.

Quoted from AVON

So, admittedly, you have proven your point beyond a reasonable doubt!  The second part of the equation is, What options are available to the homeowners in the City?  If they can't sell their home, and they need the equity to move, then they are trapped.  If the illegal taxation without representation, or at least under the false pretense of economic development via Metrograft, absent a federal investigation (much like what is occurring in the State Legislature), how do the tax rates get realigned so it is equitable?  Everyone in the City in mass has to grieve their taxes, and those in the know need to publish some type of brochure to guide them how to do it successfully!

And no one with any financial sense would even WANT to move into a City where the school district is sub-par and dangerous, neighborhoods are sub-par and dangerous and the false facade of a 'prosperous' Downtown is a complete sham.

MC1 and Avon are totally on point...the Plex must die! It has wasted millions upon millions and left the property owners and homeowners of this City in complete financial ruins.

The neighborhoods are ignored, the people are ignored yet Galesi, Mallozi and the friends and family are laughing all the way to the bank ....you know they don't live where they've stolen from.