Unlocking the Great Mysteries of Scarsdale's Assessment

Scarsdale property owners who had questions about their new assessments following the first village-wide revaluation since 1969 were encouraged to schedule meetings with Tyler Technologies to learn more about how their homes were assessed. But from what we heard, these meetings have raised more questions than they have answered. Here is a note we received from one confused homeowner:

The Scarsdale property revaluation remains a mystery to many in spite of the availability of Tyler Technologies personnel to meet with residents to discuss issues and answer questions. Many homeowners have taken advantage of this offer with the good faith expectation that their questions would be answered and next steps in the process outlined. Anecdotally, it appears that many residents leave these twenty-minute meetings without answers to questions and the feeling that they were 'double talked'. While many believe their property valuations have been improperly calculated, it is difficult to determine accuracy and equity given the lack of transparency in the valuation process. Some basic questions remain unanswered:

1. How were comparables selected?
2. What factors were used to determine home values?
3. What is the weighting of each factor?
4. How was an equalizing factor applied to compensate for variation between comparables and the property being assessed? Was the equalizing factor applied consistently among valuation factors?
5. What is the algorithm that was used to value land whereby smaller parcels have a higher per acre value than larger parcels?
6. The online tax estimates do not match the March mailing from Tyler Technologies and the Village due to "the limitations of the NYS assessment disclosure software", notwithstanding the omission of sewer and solid waste taxes. What does this mean?
7. When will we know what our actual 2014-15 property tax will be?

It is surprising and disappointing that Tyler Technologies and the Village of Scarsdale have not provided answers to these questions and others, particularly in light of the backgrounds of many residents who are familiar with financial modeling, real estate, statistics, New York State law and other relevant disciplines.

If you can shed some light on this process, please share your thoughts below, and please let us know what your experience was when you met with Tyler Technologies.