ROTTERDAM Assessor says he’s found errors Consultant will review firm’s work during revaluation BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
The Roman Villa restaurant on Duanesburg Road doesn’t exist. Neither do nearly all of the improvements at the Maple Ridge Ski Area, including its lodge and lifts off Mariaville Road. Or at least that is what the town’s property tax roll reflects, Rotterdam Assessor Craig Surprise has discovered since taking office in January. He also found National Grid pays taxes on all of the improvements built on its nearly 700 acres in Rotterdam, but has never been assessed for the actual value of the land. Neither has CSX Corp. for the property beneath their miles of rail lines. “And this is nothing,” Surprise said, leafing through an inch-thick folder of errors he’s uncovered so far. In response to these errors, members of the Town Board Wednesday unanimously agreed to hire a private consultant to analyze the roll and determine if GAR Associates lived up to their contract during the town revaluation. Rotterdam will pay up to $30,000 to the Buffalo-based Emminger, Hyatt, Newton & Pigeon Inc., Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants, to review the work completed by GAR in 2007. Supervisor Steve Tommasone said, “Our town desires to ensure the accuracy of the services provided during the town revaluation,” in a short statement during the board’s meeting. Town officials were hesitant to discuss the matter further, citing recent correspondence with GAR. Town Attorney Gerard Parisi said the Amherst-based appraisal fi rm indicated that any statements made against GAR’s services during the revaluation could be met with legal action. “They advised us that any negative or derogatory comments about their services could result in litigation against the parties making these statements,” he said following the meeting. The $752,000 revaluation project was launched in 2005, after the town’s equalization rate dropped to 2.95 percent. Proponents of the project argued inequities in the roll caused imbalances in the tax burden and left Rotterdam open to lawsuits from large commercial property owners. After the town’s impact statements were mailed in March 2007, both GAR officials and then-Assessor John Macejka Jr. claimed the revaluation hadn’t stirred much ire among residents; roughly 1,500 of the town’s 13,000 property owners informally contested their values, they said. Macejka later indicated the grievance process was busier than normal but nowhere near as busy as he had anticipated. But when school taxes came due in September, far more residents turned out to argue their property values, claiming GAR’s impact notices were flawed. The company replied to these concerns by stressing that residents were warned of the inaccuracy of the “snapshot in time” calculation, especially because the town adopted a dual tax rate system for commercial and residential properties. GAR is now conducting revaluations in both Niskayuna and Malta in Saratoga County. Officials from the company could not be reached late Wednesday evening. Parisi said the town simply wants to resolve the inequities and errors the assessor has discovered since taking office, and to ensure the accuracy of GAR’s work. He said the company has been alerted to the errors. “We’re seeking resolution of these issues,” he said.
Gee, perhaps I should sit down with Mr. Surprise and point out to him how some homes were not even looked at. I smell a lawsuit against GAR in the air, huh?
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
There are many errors in our reval and the company selected will find out just how many errors there are and hopefully they will be corrected. I agree Bumble, a lawsuit to recover some of the money spent by the town to GAR on the reval could be in the offing.
Roman Villa restaurant operates on leased property at the Rotterdam Corporate Park owned by the Galesi Group. The building housing the restaurant is not included as part of the Rotterdam Corporate Park’s property assessment. Ownership of the property was unclear in a story in Thursday’s Daily Gazette.
The Gazette has been known to slant what they put in print. But was this actually the fault of the Gazette? Or was this the info they were given?
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
The Gazette has been known to slant what they put in print. But was this actually the fault of the Gazette? Or was this the info they were given?
If this was "what they were given", they're no better than the National Enquirer. News "Reporters" are supposed to INVESTIGATE details - and they're charged with providing timely accurate NEWS to the community they serve. They're NOT charged with regurgitating fodder from a political party, govt office or anyone. They have a responsibility for truth in reporting - if they're constantly printing retractions, what good is it, especially a day or two later - the potential damage is already done.
If this was "what they were given", they're no better than the National Enquirer. News "Reporters" are supposed to INVESTIGATE details - and they're charged with providing timely accurate NEWS to the community they serve. They're NOT charged with regurgitating fodder from a political party, govt office or anyone. They have a responsibility for truth in reporting - if they're constantly printing retractions, what good is it, especially a day or two later - the potential damage is already done.
What's the reporter supposed to do?? Fact check every statement made by a public official. By the time the reporter looked into whether The Roman Villa was on the tax roll or not the story would have passed. My guess is that Mr. Surprise gave the reporter that information, and I don't see any reason why the reporter wouldn't take his word. Justin Mason might as well do the assessors job for him from what your suggesting.
There are plenty of reasons to slam the Gazette. I don't think this is one of them. I would suggest placing the blame on Mr. Surprise for his misstatement.
What's the reporter supposed to do?? Fact check every statement made by a public official. By the time the reporter looked into whether The Roman Villa was on the tax roll or not the story would have passed. My guess is that Mr. Surprise gave the reporter that information, and I don't see any reason why the reporter wouldn't take his word. Justin Mason might as well do the assessors job for him from what your suggesting.
There are plenty of reasons to slam the Gazette. I don't think this is one of them. I would suggest placing the blame on Mr. Surprise for his misstatement.
Personally, if the Gazette is the "Paper of Record" - theyhave a responsibility to accurately report the facts. If they don't have "time" to check the one or two examples given to them, then the story should be put off till the next day - or indicate "attempts to reach a representative of the Roman Villa were unsuccessful at press time".
I'm not saying Surprise was not at fault - and should also be held accountable - but Mason needs to investigate facts.
Here's a "fer instance"
A while back, the Gazette published a story about ME, which indicated a lawsuit had been filed against me, BEFORE I even knew about it - or had been served. The article was defaming and just plain WRONG (inaccurate). They NEVER tried to contact me - and they DID know how - until I called to dispute it with the column writer (not Mason). By the time they printed the retraction 3 days later, damage to my name had already been done - and the retraction was buried on B3 or B4 ... tell me that's fair?
Had they investigated the FACTS, the story would have had a lot more merit - and the Gazette's reputation would be a lot cleaner.
Mr Surprise just took over the job as assessor and is finding a number of mistakes that were done by GAR during the REVAL. He has many more properties to check and that is why the town is hiring a company from Buffalo to do a check to see if Rotterdam got the good job that they paid for. My guess is that GAR is going to be found to have done a shoddy job and may have to give some of the money back to the town.
It doesn't matter now----there are how many folks who have read the original headline story and now call it 'FACT'----now it is all over the local watering holes, grocery stores, icecream stores, pizza joints, restaurants, elks club etc......it will be talked about as if it is fact and no one will know better and say "well, that is just how it is."-----
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Mr Surprise just took over the job as assessor and is finding a number of mistakes that were done by GAR during the REVAL. He has many more properties to check and that is why the town is hiring a company from Buffalo to do a check to see if Rotterdam got the good job that they paid for. My guess is that GAR is going to be found to have done a shoddy job and may have to give some of the money back to the town.
Apparently had MADE a number of mistakes - this press release being just one.
This was discussed at the Town Board meeting on Wednesday and the Buffalo Company investigating GAR was also mentioned. Gar threatened to take legal action against the town if the town said anything bad about them. The truth will all come out someday.
This was discussed at the Town Board meeting on Wednesday and the Buffalo Company investigating GAR was also mentioned. Gar threatened to take legal action against the town if the town said anything bad about them. The truth will all come out someday.
To late we already lambasted them here on the forum.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
ROTTERDAM GAR official defends reval work Town contends company’s work was incomplete BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net
Although Rotterdam’s property tax roll may not be perfect, it was accurate enough for the state to validate it following the 2007 revaluation, an official from GAR Associates said. Cindy Baire, the vice president of the Amherst-based private appraisal firm, said the state Offi ce of Real Property Services accepted the roll produced by her company after the revaluation. As a result, the town’s equalization rate was boosted from 2.95 percent in 2006 to full value last year, allowing the town to collect $62,935 of state subsidy for the project. “At the end of the project, they validated the roll at 100 percent,” Baire said. “I really don’t think the state of New York would have paid them the aid if they didn’t.” Baire also said her company sent a letter to the town last year offering to have a discussion with several members of the Town Board who seemed to voice strong opinions about the revaluation results. She said nobody from the town bothered to respond. “Nobody from that board took any action to get together with us,” she said. “They had an opportunity.” Last week, board members unanimously agreed to pay up to $30,000 for a private consultant to analyze the roll and determine if GAR lived up to its contractual obligations during the revaluation. The town will fund the study using the state aid received for having a full equalization rate. Supervisor Steve Tommasone said preliminary evidence provided by Assessor Craig Surprise suggests there was incomplete data collection. He said these errors include omissions of buildings and structures from some properties, as well as errors of valuation in others. “It’s not an appearance that mistakes were made, it’s a fact that mistakes were made,” he said. Tommasone said the review of these errors by an impartial company will determine once and for all if GAR Associates lived up to the terms of its $752,000 contract. He said the terms of the contract included data collection and valuations for all of the town’s real property. “That includes buildings, outbuildings and all improvements to real property,” he said. But Baire said some of these errors may not be her company’s fault. For instance, she said the Maple Ridge Ski Area buildings weren’t listed because the state’s data inventorying program doesn’t have a category for such an entry. She said other discrepancies could be a result of property owners not allowing GAR employees on their land. “Every revaluation is not perfect,” she said. “It’s a constant process of perfection and refinement.” State Real Property spokesman Geoff Gloak said Rotterdam’s roll was accepted last year but under the assumption that there would probably be a few “inventory mistakes.” He said the likelihood of mistakes is even greater considering that the town hadn’t conducted a full assessment in more than 50 years. “To my knowledge, we haven’t heard of any problems with the reassessment roll beyond what you’d expect,” he said. Tommasone disagreed. In addition to the errors identified by Surprise, he said the town was recently informed by ORPS its equalization rate would drop to 94 percent this year. “And we just completed a reval,” he said.
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