Tuesday, April 27, 2010

REVALUATION UPDATES!

REVALUATION UPDATES…. 2010 Assessment Information – DOES NOT EXIST???...We are hitting a brick wall in terms of obtaining information from the State Office of Real Property Tax in Syracuse (ORPS) and the Assessor. We have been trying to find the TOTAL 2010 "preliminary” assessed values for Brookfield (not just the individual parcels) and the other Towns in the CAP (Cooperative Assessment Program): Fenner, Nelson & Smithfield. By comparing the 2009 TOTAL assessed values to the 2010 TOTAL re-assessed values we can get a ball park idea of how much our assessments REALLY went up as a total percentage. We are being told this information DOES NOT EXIST????.... How can that be if it is on the County Website? Why can’t they give us that “preliminary” total? Is it because we will find Brookfield took the biggest hit???? I’m afraid so.


REVALUATION UPDATE ….We are NOT ALONE! Town of NELSON….Sounds like an opening line to the “Twilight Zone”, but that’s what this whole process is beginning to sound like! The Town of NELSON, one of our other CAP members is also up in arms over the revaluations. Check out the Madison Courier article posted on the Brookfield Town Website detailing their contentious meeting. Ironically, the following week, who should show up at Brookfield’s March 27 protest and speak, but their Supervisor who left me with the impression Nelson and the other CAP towns were satisfied with the revaluation. Apparently, this is not the case.


REVALUATION UPDATE…..90% of the Properties in Brookfield had their ASSESSMENTS INCREASED….Street by street analysis is showing that approximately 90% of the properties saw their assessed values increase. …not the one-third we were told to expect by the Assessor, the Town Board and ORPS….this is almost THREE TIMES the number of properties that we were told to expect. See the Town website for a Street-by-Street breakdown.

REVALUATION UPDATE….Where do these “Assessment Values” come from?
It is appearing that a vacant parcel in Brookfield is being valued the same as a vacant parcel in CAZENOVIA (Nelson). Assessed values of vacant property have in some cases tripled in Brookfield. Is this the case? ORPS does not provide/doesn’t have this comparison for 2010 on a preliminary basis…HOWEVER, they would have had to have it to perform their oversight analysis of the assessor’s figures back in February.

REVALUATION UPDATE….Why can’t we find the Town’s contract with the Assessor? A question has come up at several Town Board meetings regarding terms of the Assessor’s contract or any agreements with Brookfield and under the CAPS agreement, yet the Town does not appear to have a copy. Several requests have been made and gone unanswered.

BOTTOM LINE: The lack of information and sometimes, the outright unwillingness to provide information only makes people more suspicious. These are legitimate questions that deserve to be answered.

Furthermore, this is also the time to use this information to consider whether continued participation in the CAP is truly in the Town’s best interest and explore our OPTIONS? Rather than blaming the assessor, it may be the State’s assessment formulas and valuations under the CAP agreement that deserve closer scrutiny.

By being lumped into ONE DISTRICT with the other three, wealthier and better located towns, we appear to be keeping their values and assessment costs down, while they are pushing our assessments & costs up.

We also need to ask: What is a 100% equalization rate actually costing us over the long run? How much “additional” aid & sales tax will we pick up as a result of the 100% equalization? Equalization helps the state and local government borrow more money against our total property values…sounds like the Home Mortgage Crisis all over again, at a grander level.

Lastly, are we trading away our self-governance for $1,200 a year? Do we really need to be in a CAP in order to share an Assessor? What are our options?

Friday, April 23, 2010

Brookfield: JUNK DROP OFF DAYS - Fri & Sat


REMINDER:
JUNK DROP OFF DAYS

Friday - April 23 7:00 AM -2:30 PM
Saturday - Apr 24 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM
TOWN GARAGE - Brookfield ONLY
Scrap Metal, Appliances, Metal Furniture, Water Tanks
Tires $3.00-10.00
Air conditioners, refrigerators & freezers - NO CHARGE
Sofas, stuffed chairs & mattresses - $8.00
Televisions - $3.00
No brush over 6" diameter
NO: building materials, garbage, trash, old cars, toxic
or hazardous waste of any kind, Burn barrels or batteries.
There will be someone at the Town Garage to help unload.
Any questions?? call Rod Jennison - Town Garage 899-5878

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

ONEIDA NATION: How Much in Legal Fees?

Caitlin Traynor of the ONEIDA DISPATCH does a good job following Oneida Indian Nation (OIN) affairs. This week, the Nation is requesting information from Madison County in order to determine how much the County Attorney John Campanie is being paid; including any fees, expense reimbursements or other payments paid to Companie by any law firm. In that regard, the Nation has asked Madison County to produce copies of all contracts and agreements that resulted in Campanie receiving fees, expense reimbursements or payments from any law firm or the state for work relating to litigation with the Oneida Nations. The suggestion is that the lawyers have no financial insentive to resolve the issues. The Madison county reps said the requested information would be released in whole or in part by April 30. Link to Traynor article: http://www.oneidadispatch.com/articles/2010/04/20/news/doc4bce63274d63f214997756.txt

Brookfield TOWN BOARD - Special Meeting SUMMARY - Tuesday, April 20, 2010

SPECIAL MEETING – Brookfield Town Board – 7PM - Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Didn’t miss much tonight. Fairly quiet by Brookfield standards. Small gathering. Quick meeting.

1. Polling Places Designated: Leonardsville Elementary School; North Brookfield Fire Hall, Brookfield Town Hall.

2. Deputy Town Clerk authorized to attend NYS Clerk’s Conference in Saratoga Springs, April 25-28;

3. 284 Highway Agreement – Rod Jennison ran through the options, given limited funds available and need to reseal/maintain Academy ($45,000), Keith, Chesbro ($57,300)& Wratten Rds. Decided to patch Academy ($10,000) and reseal next year; seal Keith and continue on Chesbro & Wratten (with CHPS funding if it arrives from Albany in time). Town expects approximately $138,000 of CHPS funding this year – once the budget passes in Albany – rumored to be mid-May. Salka noted the NYS budget is $9 BBBBillion short this year… and next year is expected to be worse, rising to $20 billion! ….and we think this year is going to be rough!... Interesting factoids: it costs approximately $10,000 per mile to seal a road; and CHPS money can’t be used on the same road within a 10 yr. period.

4. Assessor’s $770 Clerical bill was approved after being held over from the last meeting. According to the Town’s agreement with Assessor Rhonda Wiegand, in addition to her regular annual salary, she will receive additional salary of $6,900, plus up to $4,500 in authorized personnel; $800 postage and $40 envelope stuffing. According to Supervisor Salka, Rhonda indicated the authorized personnel figure would be less than the $4,500. These extra revaluation expenses are partially offset by the per parcel State Aid (reduced from $5 to $4.40 per parcel this yr) or approximately $8,000. Salka also reported Weigand would consider a suggestion that annual updates be done to keep the equalization rate at 100% rather than revaluing every 3-4 yrs. George Cowen recommended they find out more about the annual assessment activities she now performs. Cowen “reluctantly” made the motion to approve. Passed unanimously. Interesting factoid: The Assessor is considered a Town Employee for whom we pay retirement, and other benefits in addition to sharing costs for equipment, software and clerical costs.

5. Website “Guestbook” Replaced (..almost!) Aaron Boise gave a presentation for the new “Forum” format to replace the “Guestbook” which was “Banned in Brookfield” due to some regrettable personal remarks. DeWitt Head and several other Board members, and Doreen Corbin, voiced their vehement objections to the new Forum unless real names are used. It was agreed that the change would be made and Aaron will look into once again revising the format to enable free discussion. Aaron deserves a lot of credit for a lot of aggravation and time for very little money or recognition.

No public comment ALLOWED at this meeting! They were pretty darn definite about that one!..But did manage to ask about the hourly rate for the Assessor’s clerical assistant (was not in the bill); and the Board did not believe they had a formal written contract with the Assessor, but could not say where the salary figure came from but would try to find out.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

AG News: Farm Labor Act voted Down by Ag Committee

Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act : Voted Down by Agriculture Committee
Sen. Dave Valesky (D-Oneida) - voted against this farm labor bill
Sen. Darrel Aubertine D-Cape Vincent - also voted against the bill

APRIL 20, 2010 - The state Senate Agriculture Committee voted down The Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act . The Act would have imposed new regulations and mandates on farms large and small, with or without full-time employees, as well as add new costs such as additional overtime expenses. Many farmers opposed the bill because it would make it too difficult to get the workers they need to harvest their crops and if they could get workers, it would cost too much to employ them.The bill has been hotly debated for months. The bill was voted down 6-1 with two votes to move the bill to another committee without recommendation. See Deb Grooms Column in the Post Standard for details. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/farmworker_labor_bill_voted_do.html

Monday, April 19, 2010

Renovation, Repair & Painting Rule (RRP)
Effective: April 22,2010


ANOTHER REGULATION.... as if it wasn't expensive enough to take care of your home or rental properties, another regulation has been added. Beginning April 22, homeowners, property managers, landlords, realtors and contractors will be required by federal law to be legally trained and certified, in regards to lead dust exposure, when repairing, renovating and painting child care facilities, homes and schools built prior to 1978, but only if they’re receiving compensation for the renovation. The Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP), required by the EPA, is intended to protect residents and workers of all ages from the dangers of lead-based paint. See the EVENING SUN http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2010-03-31/9293/Federal-legislation-will-require-lead-certification/

LOCAL HEALTHCARE - Cancer Screening Programs Available

CANCER SCREENING SERVICES PROGRAM
For MADISON, HERKIMER & ONEIDA COUNTIES
Phone (315) 798-7248 or 1-800-541-0151 ext 5248

This program is for uninsured and underinsured men and women ages 40 to 64. The program offers eligible men and women no-cost access to services like clinical breast exams, mammograms, Pap tests, and colorectal cancer screenings. Funding is also available through a specialized Medicaid program for follow-up treatments when necessary. The Program partners with many medical professionals and facilities across the central New York area, including Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, the Oneida Healthcare Center and St. Elizabeth’s and Faxton-St. Luke’s Medical Centers in Utica. Enlisting the services of the program is a simple process; and usually takes about 10 minutes over the telephone. For more information, call (315) 798-5248 or 1-800-541-0151, extension 5248. (See Full Article from ONEIDA DISPATCH http://www.oneidadispatch.com/articles/2010/04/13/business/doc4bc3d1a7209ca976067488.txt )

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

BROOKFIELD: Sad Evening for us all....

It was a sad evening for Brookfield. The Constitution took TWO good hits this evening…. All dealt by our LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS.

STRIKE ONE: Taxation WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!. The Board caved as was generally expected. Albany and the Town Assessor call the shots in Brookfield. The Town Board has no authority. It’s the Assessor’s decision whether or not to postpone the revaluation and she refuses to change it. It’s up to us, the TAXPAYERS to “use the system”. Frankly, it’s the system USING US and our Town Board is standing back to let it happen. What ever happened to NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION?

STRIKE TWO: There goes “FREE SPEECH" Say GOOD-BY to the Town website's “GUEST BOOK”. Councilman Dewitt Head complained that he was hearing negative things about recent comments made on the site and passed a resolution to shut down the GUEST BOOK. Now, all comments must go to “YOUR VOICE” and will be monitored by Aaron Boise.

It was a very sad evening, indeed.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

TAXES - Brookfield Tax Protest - SPECIAL MEETING - Saturday, April 3 Summary

Below is a summary of the SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING held on Saturday, April 3 - held to take action on the 2010 Property Tax Revaluation.

It was a win for grassroots democracy today!

At Saturday’s Town of Brookfield Special Meeting, the Board was pushed to take a stand on behalf of the residents of Brookfield and postpone the controversial 2010 valuation until 2011. Over 80 residents turned out at the Special Meeting called in response to last week’s protest march against the 2010 property tax revaluation.

After several hours of heated discussion, in a standing room only meeting hall, residents convinced their Town Board to vote 4-1 in favor of postponing the 2010 property tax revaluation until 2011. Board members voting to postpone the revaluation were: John Salka, Dewitt Head, Rachel Owen and Jeff Mayne. George Cowen was the sole, no vote.
The object of the vote is to postpone implementation of the 2010 revaluation until 201l, and use the 2009 valuations again this year. This will give the Assessor sufficient time to address the many inequities raised, and which they did not feel could be adequately addressed under the current grievance system. If necessary, the Town of Brookfield will take the other CAP Townships to arbitration in order to postpone the revaluation or drop out of the CAP.

A persistent theme among the crowd was the demand for action and accountability of public officials, to start action now, at the local level. The Town Board’s vote was hailed as a grassroots act by local elected officials to stand up on behalf of their residents against Albany. Resident Kevin Marsh agreed with protest leader, Steve Walker. “Citizens need to keep the momentum of today’s victory. We made a statement today and I am sure it will be heard for miles and miles…. Together we can make a difference. Today's events prove it.. …We will escalate this thing as far as the people want to take it! Brookfield, Wampsville, Albany, Washington???”

The next stop for the protesters will be the Brookfield Central School board meeting on Monday evening. Property owners face a 45% tax increase unless dramatic cuts are made to this year’s budget.

The revaluation was performed under a, multi-town agreement with Fenner, Nelson & Smithfield. Under the Coordinated Assessment Program (CAP’s) Agreement the towns receive financial incentives from the State to share the costs of one assessor.

Several residents questioned the assessor’s excessive work load. The lone assessor, Rhonda Weigand, is responsible for fully revaluing the four CAP towns in the same year, in addition to her responsibilities to towns outside of the program.

Brookfield received approximately $12,000 (or $1,200 per year credit) from the State to remain in the program for ten years. Failure to participate will result in a pro-rated portion of the funds being returned to the State.

In 2009, a majority of the four towns agreed to perform a 2010 revaluation to raise the equalization rate from 80 to 100%. In late February, revaluation notices were mailed to taxpayers, raising a firestorm of controversy and leading to last week’s demonstration.

The last Town revaluation was completed in 2005, at the top of the real estate market, leading some to question how property values could have increased 20-50%, in 2010, as we now sit at the bottom of the real estate market and have few services, other than highway.

Farmers were particularly hard hit this year, not only from the artificially depressed milk prices, but the inherent unfairness of property taxes. A farmer and board member, Dewitt Head pointed out that farmers need the land to make a living versus speculators and land developers that artificially inflate the price of land. Several farmers objected to their farm lands being valued as possible “road frontage” for residential development.

Residents were upset by the steep rise in valuations and comparables, e.g., double-wide being comparable to ranch homes; inability to mortgage homes at these same values, among other concerns.

Supervisor John Salka read Town Assessor Rhonda Weigand’s letter to the Board, defending her valuations and procedures. (A full copy is available on the Town website.) Salka also acknowledged the Town had received a letter from Wiegand’s personal attorney, warning against comments posted on the Town website. This year the assessor will receive a regular salary of $21,000, of which $ 7,000 is being paid for the Town’s 2010 revaluation. Each of the four towns pays a relatively similar amount, in addition to providing the assessor with NYS Retirement, social security, workman’s compensation and health benefits in addition to cost reimbursements.