ROTTERDAM Town assessor hopes to continue in current post BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net
John Macejka Jr. wants to continue as Rotterdam’s sole assessor. With his fi rst term finished at the end of September, Macejka said he would like a chance to continue the job he’s had since 2002. The question is whether the feeling is mutual among members of the Rotterdam Town Board. The town solicited applications for the assessor position over the summer, setting Sept. 30 as the deadline to apply, which coincided with the end of the six-year appointment. After about two months of taking applications, town officials extended the deadline two weeks. Macejka said he applied for the job but hasn’t heard word from the town to date. He continues to work in the assessor’s offi ce. “I keep coming to work, they keep paying me,” he said. “I guess I’ll just wait and see.” Muddying the waters of the appointment is the completion of the privately contracted town revaluation last February. Many property owners fault the revaluation for increases they’ve witnessed in their property taxes. Macejka, the son of longtime assessor John Macejka Sr., came to the position on an acting basis after two appointees resigned in a span of six months. Former Supervisor John Paolino selected Macejka for the full-time position in 2003, and the board unanimously supported the appointment. Under public law, Supervisor Steve Tommasone said Macejka’s appointment will carry over until he’s reappointed or a new candidate for the position is found. He said the town is in the process of reviewing roughly a dozen applications for the positions and will begin interviewing candidates sometime next month. Tommasone said there is nothing unusual about holding over the appointment. By taking time to review all the candidate, he said the town can ensure they have the best person for the position. “We need to make sure we have an open process here,” he said last week. “This is not a political process. Tommasone concedes the choice for Rotterdam’s assessor will come on the heals of the contentious revaluation. Although GAR Associates conducted the revaluation, he said it was Macejka’s job to oversee the work. “It is the assessor who adopts the roll, not the supervisor,” he said.
Taxpayers shouldn’t waste money on an appraiser to beat reval
Over the past months, the Gazette has published reports and letters to the editor concerning the townwide revaluation project in Rotterdam. It was the first townwide revaluation in town history. I, as the assessor, had the unenviable task of overseeing this project. My staff and I worked diligently through the process, along with representatives of GAR Associates, the firm hired by the town, to educate residents through a number of informational seminars designed to quell fears of a “reval.” We mailed out questionnaires, informational packets and procedural documentation. Over 80 percent of the town residents returned their property data mailers, some with changes, questions and amendments to the data that was collected over a nine month period. In March and April, Rotterdam residents were able to speak with GAR officials to present information that might have an effect on their home’s assessed value. Appraisals, square footage, building styles and many other “valuation” issues could be discussed at these hearings. Over 1,500 residents attended the informal process, many receiving reductions based on the above inconsistencies. Not having the opportunity to visually inspect the interior of homes because of security concerns has led to confusion over heated living areas and storage space. We made every effort to inspect those houses where residents asked for interior inspections during the informal hearing process. This leads me to the Nov. 10 letter from Peter Prusch, who contended that town officials “were only interested in taking as much money from me as” he would let them. There is no record that Mr. Prusch attended the informal hearing process where a request for an internal inspection would have been scheduled. Later Mr. Prusch presented pictures to a hearing officer that shows a first-floor family room with no carpet, full of junk and accumulated clutter. If there is a heat source in that room, it was obscured in the pictures from May 12, 2007. In my professional opinion, this room, with French doors, track lighting and a drop ceiling, should be valued as living area. GAR Associates and I went to great lengths to educate residents on the pitfalls of paying appraisers to reduce assessments when a simple request during the informal hearing process may have saved them a lot of time, aggravation and cash. In the future, I ask that any town resident who feels there is a discrepancy with regard to heated living area to please contact the assessor’s office before hiring an appraiser. JOHN J. MACEJKA JR. Rotterdam
John if you had done your job instead of just sitting on your a** and checked on how the reval was going many of the problems would've been prevented. After the reval was done you took the easy way out again and did next to nothing to try and help residents get a fair reval. When the residents came to you with proof that their reval was wrong you just blew them off and said the reval was correct and now you want us to believe that you worked so hard with GAR to get the reval right. Find a job in another county the residents of Rotterdam have got your number.
Boy there Shadow, could you tell us how you really feel?
But you have hit it right on the head. Now that Mr. Macejka may be out of a job, he emerges from the woodwork and he places an article in the gazette. Where has he been all this time? And yes there were many many people that went to him for 'help' and received no direction or resolve. Might I add that there are still residence homes that have not even been reval'd.
I don't think that the reval was a bad idea. In fact I think it was way long over due. It just wasn't done fairly. And for the unfairness, where does one turn? Clearly not to Mr.Macejka!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Rotterdam assessor leaving office, blames politics Sunday, December 23, 2007 By Justin Mason (Contact)Gazette Reporter
ROTTERDAM — Rotterdam Assessor John Macejka Jr. will leave office at year’s end and he blames town politics for his failure to be reappointed.
Macejka said Supervisor Steve Tommasone informed him last week he would not be reappointed to the position, which carries a six-year term. The move came as a shock to Macejka, who didn’t expect to leave the office, even though town officials were vetting candidates for more than two months this fall.
Instead, Tommasone is expected to appoint Craig Surprise, an assessor who has most recently been employed as an assessor in Columbia County. Contacted Sunday, Macejka said the move is an attempt by the Town Board’s Republican majority to regain an influence in the assessor’s office.
“The Republicans are hell bent on turning that office back another 40 years,” he said. “This is certainly the Republican Party.”
Macejka, a Democrat and the son of longtime assessor John Macejka Sr., came to the position on an acting basis after two appointees resigned in a span of six months. Former Supervisor John Paolino, also a Democrat, selected Macejka for the full-time position in 2003, and the board unanimously supported the appointment.
Tommasone’s decision to appoint a new assessor comes on the heels of the contentious revaluation, which drastically raised many of the town’s residential property values. Macejka said his signing of the new town roll last summer played a part in the him not getting reappointed.
“If there was one significant factor, I’d say it was signing the roll,” he said.
Tommasone could not be reached for comment late Sunday afternoon.
The Republicans are hell bent on turning that office back another 40 years,” he said. “This is certainly the Republican Party.”
Let us make one thing clear here...turning any town office back 40 years has been done solely by the dems. This town is finally in the process of trying to move it forward after decades of being in the dark.
Quoted Text
Former Supervisor John Paolino, also a Democrat, selected Macejka for the full-time position in 2003, and the board unanimously supported the appointment.
This appointment carries a 6 year term. Am I missing something here?
Quoted Text
Macejka said his signing of the new town roll last summer played a part in the him not getting reappointed.
PERHAPS!! Not to mention that Mr.Macejka signed in a new town reval when he KNEW there were discrepancies everywhere. Mr.Macejka may call it 'political'....I see it as he didn't do his job for the people of Rotterdam! So now let's hope that Mr.Surprise will be a pleasant surprise!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
ROTTERDAM Town assessor blames politics Macejka detects intent by Republicans BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Rotterdam Assessor John Macejka Jr. will leave office at year’s end and he blames town politics for his failure to be reappointed. Macejka said Republican Supervisor Steve Tommasone informed him last week he would not be reappointed to the position, which carries a six-year term. The move came as a shock to Macejka, who didn’t expect to leave the offi ce, even though town officials were vetting candidates for more than two months this fall. Instead, Tommasone is expected to appoint Craig Surprise, who was most recently employed as an assessor in the Columbia County towns of New Lebanon and Canaan. Macejka said the move is an attempt by the town board’s Republican majority to regain influence in the assessor’s office. “The Republicans are hell bent on turning that office back another 40 years,” he said Sunday. “This is certainly the Republican Party.” Macejka, a Democrat and the son of longtime assessor John Macejka Sr., came to the position on an acting basis after two appointees resigned in a span of six months. Former Supervisor John Paolino, also a Democrat, selected Macejka for the full-time position in 2003, and the board unanimously supported the appointment. Macejka’s appointment officially expired at the end of September. His appointment was carried over while board members reviewed roughly a dozen applications for the positions. Tommasone’s decision to appoint a new assessor comes on the heels of the contentious private revaluation, which drastically raised many of the town’s residential property values. Macejka said his signing of the new town roll last summer as played a part in the him not getting reappointed. “If there was one significant factor, I’d say it was signing the roll,” he said. Tommasone could not be reached for comment late Sunday afternoon. Attempts to reach Surprise were also unsuccessful. Even as recently as three weeks ago, Macejka said Tommasone had made overtures suggesting he would be reappointed. Believing his job was secure, he said he never bothered to apply for a position anywhere else. “I took the supervisor at his word,” he said. “I trusted him that I was going to be OK.” Ironically, the state Office of Real Property awarded the town $62,935 of Triennial Aid Wednesday — the day before Macejka was alerted of the new appointment — after the town was determined to have an equitable roll. The town received $5 per parcel for each of its 12,587 properties, according to Regional Director Jeffrey Green. “Congratulations to your assessor for maintaining a system of real property tax administration which meets the highest standards set by the state,” Green stated in a letter to Tommasone. “Efforts such as theirs are essential to guarantee equity and fairness to the taxpayers of your municipality.”
“I took the supervisor at his word,” he (John Macejka Jr.) said. “I trusted him that I was going to be OK.”
Gee, seems to me the sentance should read "I took the assessor at his word," said the town residents who received their astonishing land value raises this year. "I trusted him that I was going to be OK."
Nice hit BK. Macejka did absolutely nothing to help the residents through this reval. What did he think his job was? Must be he thought he would just sit by collecting his salary while the town got an unfair reval. No sympathy from me.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Re Dec. 24 article, “Town assessor blames politics”: I really have to laugh at John Macejka’s “shock” at not being reappointed. It reminds me of the “shock” he gave the people of Rotterdam when their homes were excessively revalued — costing residents of the town millions of dollars in unsubstantiated taxes. As a reason for his lack of reappointment, Mr. Macejka is quoted, “If there was one significant factor, I’d say it was signing the roll,” Gee, ya think? Mr. Macejka says, “I took the supervisor at his word, I trusted him that I was going to be OK.” Does that sound familiar, Mr. Assessor, when you told Rotterdam residents to trust you and everything was going to be OK? That hardly happened, Rotterdam residents got surprised in the fall, and we’ll be further surprised when our escrow bills come shortly. Mr. Macejka stated that “he never bothered to apply for a position anywhere else” based on his thinking his job was secure. Sounds a lot like all the Rotterdam residents, who didn’t sock away some extra cash for paying their tax bill this year, thinking it would be OK and would never be as outrageous as it turned out. As far as Mr. [Regional Director] Jeffrey Green’s statement praising the assessor, perhaps Mr. Green needs to “reassess” his values when it comes to what constitutes equity and fairness. The residents of Rotterdam certainly didn’t get treated fairly — they were outright cheated. I only hope Supervisor Steve Tommasone lives up to his promise to fix this. This is a great fi rst step, hopefully [new assessor] Craig Surprise will surprise us all and treat the residents of Rotterdam fairly for a change, and not just more of the same with a different name on the tax bill. RICK CORTESE Rotterdam
Wow, it's almost like Rick Cortese climbed inside my head (or came on this website to see what I wrote) and copied much of it word for word.
I thought the same thing Bk....that is unless you have an alias!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Re Dec. 24 Gazette article, “Town assessor blames politics”: Who is John Macejka kidding? The Rotterdam reassessments were a farce. That’s why he wasn’t reappointed. And Regional Director Jeffrey Green of the Office of Real Property Services should have his head examined. His letter to Supervisor Steve Tommasone states, “Congratulations to your assessor for maintaining a system of real property tax administration which meets the highest standards set by the state. Efforts such as theirs are essential to guarantee equity and fairness to the taxpayers of your municipality.” I own a small condo in White Birch Gardens (off Helderberg Avenue). My condo was assessed exactly the same as the large condos ($175,000). Some of the larger condos are selling for close to $200,000, while I would be lucky to get $170,000 for mine. So, tell me, Mr. Green, how does this guarantee fairness and equity to me? And, you, Mr. Macejka, shut my husband and me out when we went to dispute this. Shame on both of you and kudos to Tommasone for giving you the boot! LORRAINE VANDERWERKEN Rotterdam
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