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Assessors prepare public for value changes

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CHATHAM—At the Town Board workshop meeting earlier this month the board heard from Suzette Booy, director of the Columbia County Real Property Tax Service Agency, about the reassessment of properties currently going on in the town. Ms. Booy reported that notices to property owners with the new preliminary property assessments will go out soon.

In 2019, the Chatham Town Board decided to conduct a 2022 reassessment of all property in the town “in order to create fair and equitable assessments at 100% of market value,” according to the town’s website. The town contracted with the county to do the reassessment. Both the towns of Chatham and Ghent are going through the process at the same time, which Ms. Booy said is good since the Village of Chatham is within both of the towns.

“It has been a long process,” Ms. Booy said, explaining that because of delays in other towns the county is working with due to the pandemic shutdown, the revaluation was delayed a year.

At the online meeting on February 3, she said the reassessment is in the final phase and that the county and the town assessor are now working on the valuation of the properties. A notice will be mailed to every property owner in the town with their new, preliminary assessment. By law, these notices have to go out by March 1. She pointed out that the notices allow property owners to see what their new preliminary assessment will be and, if they do not agree with the new value, they can schedule a meeting with town Assessor Kimberly Smith.

“Kim has set aside a large number of appointments,” said Ms. Booy. She also said property owners may email documentation as well.

“I do have some concern with this type of notice,” she said, adding that the notices estimate taxes and things can change after the property owner receives the notice and school and town taxes are finalized. “Numbers can change,” she said but “it’s a good estimate at this point in time.”


‘It’s all about your value.’

Kimberly Smith

Town of Chatham assessor


The notice will also show what the assessed value of the property was last year.

Ms. Booy stressed that the town Assessor Smith had put a lot of information online at the town’s website for residents about reassessments and property values.

School taxes will reflect the new assessment in September and town taxes will change for January. Village residents will not see a change in village taxes due to the reassessment until June of 2023.

On May 1, a tentative assessment roll will be made public, according to the town’s website. All parcels owners who attend the informal review will receive a new notice of assessment, even if there was no change from the preliminary assessment.

“At this time, any parcel owner that disagrees with their tentative assessed value will have the opportunity to file a formal grievance,” the notice on the website reads. The town will also hold a grievance day. The town plans to move grievance day from early May to May 31 due to a conflict with the assessor since Ms. Smith is also the assessor in the towns of Canaan and New Lebanon. The board is holding a public hearing on changing the date at their next board meeting.

Ms. Smith said the notices mailed in March will include an explanation of what to do if the property owner does not agree with their assessments.

“It’s all about your value” of the property, she said and talked about the need for people to bring documentation that shows their new assessment is not correct. Information on what to present is also on the website.

“The property owners will have multiple​​ opportunities” to bring their issues forward with the new assessment, Ms. Booy said. Information is at www.chathamnewyork.us/departments/assessor

To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com

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