Last weekend the temperature wasn’t the only thing dropping; several Niskayuna residents’ jaws hit the floor when they opened their South Colonie Central School District tax bills.
Jim and Cheri Feldman of Niskayuna said they did not immediately open the envelope that contained their school tax bills because, Jim said, he was fairly confident he knew what he would see. Then a friend of his called and said, Jim, have you looked at your tax bills?
Feldman said he was expecting to see a four as the first number of his bill. He did see a four ` two numbers in. His tax bill said that he owed $5,244, a difference of about $1,278 from last year’s bill of $3,966.
`I expected an increase based upon school taxes to be $500 to $600,` Feldman said. `I never anticipated it to be an amount so much larger.`
Feldman is not the only one.
At the Tuesday, Sept. 16, Board of Education meeting in the South Colonie Central School District, Jim Ambrose of Stafford Lane, Niskayuna, spoke on behalf of what he said were hundreds of angry Niskayuna residents who feel this year’s school tax bills are unfair.
`I don’t think we’re getting a real fair shake of what the tax breaks are,` Ambrose told the board.
The tax rate, which was finalized last month by board members, is a 5.92 percent increase, equaling $22.62 per $1,000 of assessed value for homeowners and $25.61 per $1,000 of assessed value for commercial property owners.
Last year’s tax rate was $21.36 per $1,000 of assessed value for homeowners and $28.48 per $1,000 for commercial property owners.
In May, voters approved a budget of $88.2 million, which at that time was expected to result in an estimated 3.92 percent increase.
Ambrose said he did not think the jump in taxes was all the district’s fault ` he said the Town of Colonie was pointing fingers — he did ask the district to recalculate the figures.
District officials did not promise Ambrose a recalculation, but they did tell him they understand the frustration surrounding the tax bill, but that the matter was out of their hands.
After the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Buhner said, `It’s one of those situations that people I know are certainly concerned, and we understand why they’re concerned. What we’re dong as a school district is run a fiscally responsible operation,` he said. `We don’t have any authority or power over this.`
Residents are asking if the school district is not to blame, then who is?
According to district officials, several factors were involved in the increases for Niskayuna residents who pay South Colonie Central School District taxes.
One factor school officials are pointing to is the difference in assessment values between houses in the Town of Colonie and houses in the Town of Niskayuna.
While houses in Niskayuna are assessed at full value, according to Peter Gannon, director of operations for the Town of Colonie, houses in Colonie are only assessed at 67 percent of full value.
The costs of completing a townwide full assessment, according to Gannon, would be in the millions, an amount the town cannot afford.
`We’re in a very tough situation,` Gannon said. `We’re not in any position to go out and do a full reassessment at this point. It’s something we just don’t have the resources for.`
Feldman said this inequity in assessment could have a lot to do with the price of his tax bill.
Another factor that Feldman blames for the tax increase in school taxes is the amount of tax certiorari lawsuits won by businesses this year ` amounting to $18 million.
According to Assistant Superintendent for Management Services Beverly Miller, when businesses win these certiorari lawsuits, the tax burden is shifted from non-homeowners to homeowners.
`We use the formula, and we input our levy but all of the assessments come from the town,` said Miller.
According to Miller, the district has nothing to do with the lawsuits either, and this year the businesses, mostly office buildings, she said, happened to win many lawsuits.
Responding to Ambrose’s comments, William Ryan, the district’s attorney, said, `Nothing can be done this year. The die have been cast.`
Feldman also said that his family, and many others, are going to pay this year’s bill because they have to. But looking toward the future, Feldman said he and his fellow Niskayuna residents are looking into a class-action lawsuit that will prevent situations like this from reoccurring in the future.
`It won’t happen this year, and I don’t think it will even happen the next,` he said. `But if I live here for 15 years, then at least I can live here for 13 with satisfaction.“