17% of Scarsdale Property Owners File Grievances For Property Tax Relief

It's too late to turn back the clock now on the 2016 property tax revaluation. Though some urged the Mayor and Trustees to void it and return to the 2014 assessments, they did not act and residents had a busy week submitting their paperwork to file grievances at Village Hall. According to Deputy Village Manager Robert Cole, as of the 8 pm deadline on Tuesday June 21 it appears that 1,030 people filed, which is up from the 960 grievances filed after the 2014 revaluation and represents approximately 17.5% of the total of 5,900 properties.

The Board of Assessment Review will meet on Thursday, June 23 from 8 am – 12 pm and 6:30 pm to 10 pm to hold 3-minute appointments with those who wish to appear before them. It's not necessary to appear in person, but some would like to do so, and the Board is doing their best to accommodate as many residents and attorneys as possible. The BAR has scheduled an additional hearing on Wednesday June 29 from 6:30 to 10 pm to allow them to hear more cases.

The Scarsdale Board of Trustees has scheduled a special meeting of the whole on Monday, June 27, 2016 at 8:00 PM in Rutherford Hall to review the status of the assessment grievance proceedings for the 2016 tentative assessment roll. It is not known what, if any, action can be taken to change the process.

Residents expressed their discontent through a variety of ways. A petition to void the revaluation was posted on Change.org, people are writing letters, attending the BAR hearings and writing to the trustees.

Robert Berg, who serves on the Board of Assessment Review and was also a critic of this second revaluation sent an email to trustees today, urging them to attend the BAR hearing. He said;

"I invite, and indeed, I implore you to come and observe tomorrow's Board of Assessment Review ("BAR") public hearing, which is the continuation of the Grievance Day hearing, beginning at 8 am in Rutherford Hall. On Grievance Day, the BAR heard as many grievants as it could -- about 70 or 80. But because of the huge number of property owners who want to speak at the BAR hearings, the BAR must hold another two days of public hearings, at least, to accommodate this demand.

You and the trustees need to understand why so many property owners are outraged and, in many cases, traumatized by the Ryan valuations. You need to hear from elderly homeowners who have lived in our Village for four or five decades or more whose property values have suddenly, and inexplicably risen by 25% or 40%, and who fear that they will be unable to live out their lives in their beloved village.

You should hear the anguish many homeowners express about having to struggle to pay for an appraisal or to hire an attorney or property tax service to fight the Ryan valuations that appear to many to be random, or biased, or simply incomprehensible."