The town of Bethlehem owns two separate properties one at the Henry Hudson Park and one at the New Salem Water Plant that two town employees call home in exchange for caretaker duties.
Charles Wickham, the director of field operations for the Department of Public Works, lives at 157 Lyons Road at the town park off the Hudson River.
Richard Sayward, the chief water treatment plant operator, lives at 27 Patton Road in Voorheesville on the Vly Creek Reservoir.
Both earn a salary of $82,886, but according to Bethlehem Supervisor Jack Cunningham, there are different caretaking duties required of each residence.
`The town pays the taxes, and the occupant has a lease agreement that he fulfills as a caretaker,` Cunningham said. `There’s a separate description for the caretaker duties.`
Both positions have always carried the current caretaker responsibilities, according to Cunningham, although in the past, the town’s Parks and Recreation Department used the Henry Hudson Park house.
Cunningham said Wickham had requested to live in the home.
Sayward moved into the New Salem home after taking over his position from a longtime former employee who had previously lived at the residence, he said.
Sayward’s caretaker duties include a type of `night watchman` function because he lives at the reservoir and helps to keep the 497.9-acre plot secured around the clock, said Cunningham.
The assessed value of his ranch style home and three-bay garage is difficult to determine because it is a part of the Bethlehem Water District No. 1. New Scotland Assessor Donna McGinnis said the entire property is assessed at around $10.6 million, and Bethlehem pays the town an annual tax of $58,266.45. Out of that, nearly $32,000 goes to Albany County, $13,000 to New Scotland, and the rest goes toward election costs and emergency service districts.
There is no deal between New Scotland and Bethlehem in terms of supplying water and property tax exemptions, according to Cunningham.
`We pay taxes to the town of New Scotland on the water plant and they purchase water from us,` he said. `New Scotland sets up special water districts and charges their residents for access to the water supply.`
Although municipalities can request exemptions on real property tax outside of their borders for water and wastewater treatment plants if the respective municipalities agree to them, both New Scotland Supervisor Tom Dolin and
Cunningham said they were unaware of the tax exemption, and Cunningham said he didn’t believe one had been filed.
According to Section 406(3) of the state’s Office of Real Property Services exemption manual this can include `either a total or a partial exemption from taxation, special ad valorem levies and special assessments.`
The section states the eligibility requirements in this case include that the municipality own the facility; it be outside its borders; it’s a county, city, town or village with a population of less than 100,000; and it be used a water plant, pumping station, water treatment plant, watershed, or reservoir and include necessary connection and appurtenances.
`I’m sure someone has thought of this before, but I’ll certainly look into it,` Cunningham said of Section 406(3) eligibility. In a later conversation, Cunningham said the problem with the state exemption was that it had to be agreed on by the municipality that would lose out on the tax revenue.
According to the state exemption, Bethlehem could apply to New Scotland, Albany County and the Voorheesville School District for a tax break on the property.
`It’s kind of a Pandora’s Box because Albany County owns so many properties here in Bethlehem,` Cunningham said. `If everyone started exempting each other the whole thing would start to unravel.`
Bethlehem does not pay taxes on Wickham’s Selkirk home at the park because it is tax exempt from the school district, town and county. The home is described on the Bethlehem assessment Web site as an 840-square-foot single-family ranch worth $116,400, which was built in 1940. The riverfront property it sits on is assessed at $75,700.
Cunningham described his caretaker duties as a sort of `park ranger` to oversee the riverfront park. Wickham looks over the park, which has restrooms, a pavilion and a boat launch, after hours and on weekends.
Bethlehem tax collector Nancy Mendick said no taxes have been paid on the property since 2006 when $65.47 was paid to the town.
The home has since been exempt from town taxes.
In Guilderland, the town has done away with allowing officials to reside in town-owned property in exchange for caretaker duties.
Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion said that Guilderland had done so in the past, but that `we’ve kind of gotten away from that.` He added that it was beneficial for historical properties in particular because of the maintenance needs involved.
`There were good purposes for it. You did get rent for the property,` said Runion, who added that it’s not uncommon. `The state does the same thing when they lease their recreational facility.`
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