School board members decided last week the district would not participate in conservation easement tax breaks for large landowners last week.
The decision was made at a school board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 7, with a 4-3 vote against the proposal. The final decision came down to Board member Matt Downey, who did not feel he could support the exemption since those within the school district, but who lived outside of Bethlehem, could not participate.
“All the residents who spoke were from Bethlehem, but we don’t just represent Bethlehem,” said Downey. “We are a district that represents Bethlehem and New Scotland… we have to represent residents from both towns in the district and for that reason I won’t support it.”
The legislation to allow Bethlehem to offer the exemption was passed by the state over the summer, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo signing the bill into law in August. The town then passed its own simplified version the same month to get the program started. The question that remained was if area school districts and Albany County would also opt-in to the program.
Residents will be able to apply for the exemptions through a Conservation Easement Board. The board will approve specific recommendations and requirements for each individual property before the application is passed on to the town board.
The exemption would mainly be based on how long landowners committed their land to remain open space.
The shortest amount of time, which is mandated by the state, would be 15 years and comes with a 50 percent tax break. No development can occur on the land during the easement’s timeframe, and the restrictions stay with the deed, not the owner of the property. Those who apply for a perpetual easement would see a 90 percent tax break.
If landowners break the exemption and develop a portion of their land, they must pay back five times the amount of tax savings from the last year, plus 6 percent interest for up to five years. The Conservation Easement Board must also approve dissolution of the contract if a person wishes to sell the land before the time is up, since the easement stays with the deed, not the owner.
A public hearing on the proposal for the school district to opt-in to the proposal was held on Wednesday, Dec. 17. A majority of those who attended the meeting were in favor of the program, and said they would be willing to pay more in taxes to preserve open space. Many of those who spoke against it were large land owners who were unhappy with the program’s requirements to participate.
According to the district, if every eligible property owners applied for a conservation easement at the minimum 15 years, the average resident would have seen a tax increase of $7 per $250,000. At the large end, if every eligible landowner applied for the perpetual easement at a 90 percent tax reduction, the average homeowner would see their school taxes increase by $13. It is not expected all eligible property owns will take part.
Both Joanne Cunningham and Christine Beck were in favor of the proposal since they support the preservation of open space and a majority of those who spoke were in favor. Lynne Lenhardt was also in favor, but had reservations since New Scotland residents would see the tax increase but couldn’t participate. Michael Cooper, Charmaine Wijeyesinghe and Diane Giacone Stever all voted no.
“I struggle with the fact of giving the tax break and then having other people have to subsidize for it,” said Giacone Stever.
Supervisor John Clarkson said he was disappointed with the vote’s outcome, but we didn’t want to question the decision of another independent board. The hope is to somehow find a way for New Scotland residents to be able participate in the exemption.
“It’s not possible in the current law,” said Clarkson. “More than likely it would probably require new legislation, and if that’s the case we’ll see what can be done.”
Veterans exemption
The school board unanimously voted in favor of allowing the Veteran’s Tax Exemption, but at the lowest level. Lenhardt and Stever did not vote since their husbands are both veterans.
The exemption is for veterans who were honorably discharged, served active duty during wartime, and those who qualify under alternatives to “periods of war” or received an Expeditionary Medal. Reservists usually cannot, though some family members of veterans may be eligible.
Between Bethlehem and New Scotland, 1,087 households have veterans exemptions through their towns within the schools district. The basic level means veterans would see a $6,000 exemption for serving in wartime, $4,000 exemption for serving in combat and a $20,000 exemption for disability.
With the minimum benefits granted for all eligible veterans, school and library taxes would increase by about $12 for an average $250,000 home.
No one at the public hearing spoke against the exemption proposal. Most school board members felt this was a good way to give back; however, given the hardships placed on some residents due to the tax increase, they could not recommend the highest exemption.
