The Assessor is responsible for
preparing market value estimates for every property in Clayton. The values,
or assessments are used for determining the tax burden for each parcel.
Annually the Assessor's officer reviews permits, transfers of property, and
deeds to determine if a change in assessment is necessary.
The Assessor is also
responsible for administering exemptions to taxation. These exemptions
include Senior Citizen, School Tax Relief (STAR), Agricultural, and Veterans
to name a few. Below are links to the most commonly used assessment forms. A
complete list of exemptions can be found online at
this link.
Assessment Calendar
July 1st - Valuation date
March 1st - Taxable status date
March 1st - Exemption application
deadline
May 1st - Tentative Roll Date
Wednesday, following the 4th Tuesday in
May - Grievance Day
"How can you say assessments result in the fair sharing of
taxes?"
Perhaps the best way to answer this
question is with a history lesson. It all began with the notion
that those who can afford to pay more should pay more. So owners
of bigger and better properties would pay a larger portion of
the taxes. A couple of hundred years ago, that seemed like the
fairest thing to do. There was a direct correlation between what
you owned and what you could afford to pay. Today, the size and
type of property you own is not a true indicator of your ability
to pay taxes, but taxes based on property value is the process
still in place in New York State. Therefore in order to assure
that the taxes are being divided in the fairest way possible, it
is important to have an accurate assessment of your property.
People often question why assessments a are not frozen at the
time of sale. Freezing assessments ignores all the trends &
factors that influence your property's value and would
eventually resulting shocking changes in property values and
hence taxes - notwhat anyone wants! Once again, and
example may help to explain why that is not a smart (or fair)
way to address taxes.
If we froze assessments, a 1200 sq. ft.
house that was purchased in 1985 for $40,000 would still be
assessed at $40,000 today. If in 2008, someone down the street
purchased a similar-sized home for $120,000 (because the cost of
everything goes up) and we froze their assessment at
$120,000, then the owner of of the 2008 house would pay 3x
the taxes as the same house whose assessment remained at the
$40,000. Where would you want to live? Would you feel like that
was fair if you were the new person in town? As the tax rate
went up both would pay more but the higher assessed one would
increase more than the lower one. This illustrates the need for
regular revaluations. Assessments must be current with property
values. Ideally, it's best to adjust values every year,but when there aren't enough sales
to work from, or the housing market is unchanged, performing a
revaluation every year is difficult. So every three to five
years is more appropriate.
For more Assessor's
Corner tidbits, visit the Archives by clicking
HERE
NOTICE
The
Town of Clayton 2013 TENTATIVE Assessment Roll Is Available
HERE
ATTENTION: PROPERTY
OWNERS
IF YOU ARE 65 YRS
OLD (OR WILL BE BY 12/31) AND YOUR ADJUSTED GROSS
INCOME IS LESS THAN $79,000. YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR
A STAR EXEMPTION. THE PROPERY MUST BE YOUR
PRIMARY RESIDENCE! ALL EXEMPTIONS ARE DUE IN THE
ASSESSOR'S OFFICE BY MARCH 1ST. CALL THE ASSESSOR'S
OFFICE WITH ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
Grievance Forms RP-524 MUST be received and an appointment made
for Grievance Day at the Assessor's Office to guarantee that you
will be "heard" by the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance
Day. A property owner who does NOT schedule a hearing in
front of the Board of Assessment Review takes the risk of having
to come back at a time set by the Board of Assessment Review.
