UPDATED: Message from the Mayor: Assessor speaks, School Board candidates debate

Fellow Residents;

 

Two short items: while neither is strictly Village Board business, they are of broad interest to the community.

 

The Town reassessment process carried out over the last few months has left many with questions and concerns about the impact of the reassessment on homeowners’ values and taxes.  This reassessment process affects the Town assessment roll, which is used to determine your school, county and town taxes - about 80% of your taxes.  For historic reasons, the Village has its own assessment roll, not affected by this reassessment process, that is used for the village portion of your taxes.  

 

Edye McCarthy, the Town assessor, will be appearing before the Board of Trustees this Tuesday at 7:30 to answer Board questions about the process, as well as to understand what the Town is doing to address these issues. One effort, promoted by Town Supervisor Feiner, is to ask the New York State government to pass a law that would allow people to appeal for a phase-in of their assessment increase over a three-year period so it isn’t as sharp an impact on family finances.  The assessment process is heavily regulated by law, and communities are constrained on what they can do with assessment results – the only way to mitigate the impact on taxpayers is through special legislation.

 

If you are interested in hearing the assessor’s responses, please attend.

 

The Village and School governments are distinct entities, with their own boards, taxing authority, tax rates and oversight responsibilities.  State law has segregated school oversight from municipal oversight for well over a century (the Hastings school district was founded through a law that is over 160 years old). The division is sharp and clear and is intended to separate politics from school affairs. District elections are non-partisan and happen in May, along with a vote on the school budget – school districts differ from municipal districts in that the public votes directly on the school budget as well. 

 

This year, the school board election, which is contested, is on May 17th.  If you are interested in meeting the candidates, there is a candidate’s forum, organized by the League of Women’s Voters, this Thursday, May 5th, at 7PM in the Hillside School cafeteria. The four candidates (for the two open positions) will answer questions posed by the League and then the public will have a chance to direct questions to the candidates.  School Board elections are important – our school system consumes the majority of our tax dollars, and the Board’s oversight of the curriculum, budget and school administration directly affects the quality of the school system and impacts our children, and thus, the nature of our community. 

 

(The debate happens to overlap with the PTSA used book sale, also held at the Hillside Elementary School, which boasts literally thousands of books on sale in every imaginable category.  Evening hours on the sale start at 6PM: come early before the forum and walk off with some cheap reads for a good cause.)

 

Sincerely,

Peter Swiderski

Mayor