The town of Oneonta is on track to perform a townwide property revaluation next year after 17 years without one.
A revaluation revises assessments on all properties in a municipality for the purposes of fair distribution of the property-tax burden. The assessments by the town are used to calculate town, county, school and fire-district taxes.
The last revaluation in the town was done in 1992.
The town board last week set aside $71,550 in the 2010 budget for the revaluation. The board also voted to allow Supervisor Robert Wood to sign a contract with Maxwell Appraisals of Liverpool to conduct the revaluation.
Wood said town officials will be meeting with Maxwell Appraisals during the next few weeks to determine the protocol and timetable.
The revaluation would not have an effect on the tax rolls as determined by the 2010 town budget adopted Nov. 10. It would have to be done by March 1, 2010, before it could be used for the 2011 town tax rolls, Wood said.
"It could affect the school taxes in the fall of next year," he said.
Wood said he was not sure if Maxwell Appraisals can get the revaluation done before March 1.
"It's questionable. It depends on how it goes for them," he said.
In 2005, town officials indicated a revaluation wasn't under consideration because of concerns that real-estate prices were artificially high because of a "housing bubble." That year, the equalization rate was 79 percent.
The state Office of Real Property Services sets equalization rates. The equalization rate is the ratio of the total assessed value to the total market value.
With the town equalization rate at 54.5 percent for 2009, there is a need for the revaluation to get all properties at 100 percent, Wood said.
The typical property owner should not see much of a change in their town tax bills, he said.
"In theory, your property value will double, but the tax rate will be about half," Wood said.
Typically after a revaluation, a third of tax bills increase, a third decrease and the others are about the same, according to those familiar with the process.
"That's about what we anticipate," Wood said.
The town has settled with a number of corporate property owners, including New York State Electric & Gas, Wal-Mart and the Southside Mall, who have disputed their town tax bills because of what they have claimed was an over-assessment.
"There have been several homeowners that have filed suits, and they have all won," Wood said.
This could help alleviate this issue, he said.
"We've found there are quite a few inequities, and this will help even them out," Wood said.
He said the procedure for the revaluation is still being worked out, but both the town and Maxwell Appraisals will keep property owners informed through mailings.
Revaluations typically involve voluntary inspections of properties to get accurate appraisals. Wood said that process is also still being determined.
Revaluations can prove to be tumultuous for property owners who dispute the new assessments for being too high or low. Wood said there will be an appeals process.
He added that Maxwell Appraisals has a good track record. The company recently performed a revaluation in the town of Vestal in Broome County, and out of 9,600 parcels, there were about 126 appeals, he said.
"That's a pretty small percentage," Wood said.
