Unlocking the Great Mysteries of Scarsdale's Assessment
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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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.
LWVS Comments on Proposed Village Budget
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Though much focus is given to the budget for the Scarsdale Schools, the Scarsdale Village budget also represents 18% of your tax bill and warrants resident's attention. The proposed Scarsdale Village budget for 2014-15 would maintain services at current levels and increase the tax rate by 3.3%, or on average, $199 per household. The LWVS has studied the proposed budget and notes the challenges faced by local governments to continue to remain independent due to increases in state mandated expenses for pension and retirement benefits, pressure to consolidate with other municipalities, the tax cap and shrinking revenues.
Here is the LWVS consensus statement with recommendations for the Village on meeting these challenges:
The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (the "League" or "LWVS") held a membership meeting on Monday, March 31, 2014 to evaluate the 2014-2015 Tentative Village Budget. We thank Village Manager Al Gatta, Deputy Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, Village Treasurer Mary Lou McClure and Trustee Stacey Brodsky for attending the meeting and addressing our questions related to the proposed budget, as well as potential issues going forward.
The League supports the proposed FY 2014-15 budget. We commend the Village staff, Mayor Bob Steves, the Board of Trustees (the "Board") and its Finance Committee for conducting a well-managed, thoughtful process and proposing a budget that evidences careful planning, taking into consideration both the current and the anticipated needs of the village. The League understands that it was necessary for the Board to vote to exceed the state-mandated tax levy limit (as calculated this year, 2.49%). The amount by which the proposed tax levy will exceed the tax levy limit is currently estimated to be $517K.
The proposed tax rate increase is 3.33% or an increase of approximately $199 for a homeowner with an average assessed value of $23,900. The budget proposes a 4.05% increase ($2.051M) in expenditures from the 2013-14 adopted budget. Highlights include:
• slight to no growth in non-property tax revenues, such as sales tax, mortgage tax, gross receipts taxes on utilities, and interest income;
• increases in noncontrollable costs, such as employee pension and health insurance, and contractual obligations (increases in pension, workers compensation and health insurance costs alone account for approximately $509.9K);
• maintenance of number of positions following four years of reducing the number of positions;
• maintenance of services and programs at current levels.
Deferral of Capital Projects
We appreciate that the Village maintains a 5-year capital plan and aims to maintain debt service as level as possible. However, the League has concerns about the continued deferral of capital projects, including acquisition of equipment for use by the Department of Public Works, removal of the underground storage tank at Village Hall, renovation of the third floor in Village Hall, addressing security issues in Rutherford Hall, Freightway garage issues, and road resurfacing. We recognize that the decision to defer these projects is a result of the Board's efforts to minimize property tax increases in this current economic environment. However, the League believes the Village is walking a tight rope in continuing to forego these necessary projects and hopes that the Village will address these projects in the near future.
Sanitary Sewer Service Fee
The League commends the Village for instituting this fee as it provides a dedicated fund for repairing/maintaining and upgrading the sanitary sewer system. In addition, monies from this fund can be used to repair and maintain storm water facilities (e.g. drainage improvements, cleaning and TV inspection of pipes, pipe lining, catch basin cleaning) when impacted by the sewer system, ensuring that the Village adheres to storm water compliance programs.
Other budget items
The League also commends the Village in particular for:
- undertaking an analysis of health insurance options, and supports the Village's efforts in current and upcoming union contract negotiations to seek increased health insurance contributions from union members;
- continuing to maintain the same high level of services with a reduced staff, in part by increasing productivity and use of technology;
- looking at ways to reduce sick time, the only controllable component in connection with overtime in the Fire Department (represents 37% of the overtime costs). The League looks forward to learning the results of the new program rolled out on April 1st.;
- settling three of the five expired union contracts that were unsettled at this time last year;
- applying unassigned and assigned fund balances ($1.173M) to certain expenses to keep the tax rate low (resulting in a tax rate savings of approximately 3.43%).
Library Capital Plan
The League is pleased that the Village is reestablishing the approach of a public/private partnership to fund the capital improvements to the Library, as currently being contemplated, to bring the facility up-to-date.
We recommend that the Village explore the public/private partnership approach in other contexts as may be appropriate, such as in connection with maintaining athletic fields in the community.
Village at a Crossroads
Faced with a third year of the state mandated tax cap, the Village has been challenged to maintain services at current levels. Even with the meticulous budget planning process that the Village staff and Village Board have adhered to over the past several years, continued rising costs of which a significant portion is not controllable – and the prospect of increasing non-property tax revenues dim, we believe the Village has reached a crossroads. We must ask ourselves how the Village will be able to sustain the services the community has come to expect in the manner in which they have historically been delivered. As noted by the Village Manager, as a result of the tax cap law and the Governor's efforts to incentivize municipalities to merge or consolidate/share services, municipalities bear significant pressure to consolidate services and stay under the tax cap, unavoidably at the cost of sacrificing their independence and ability to self-govern.1 The League recommends that the Village educate the community so they understand the pressures imposed on municipalities arising from policies set by the State and encourage the community to convey its concerns at the state level. In addition, the League suggests that the Village Board explore setting aside funds to study whether merger or consolidation of services with other municipalities makes sense for Scarsdale, its pros and cons.
The League continues to support engaging the community in dialogue to identify the services residents want and what they are willing to pay for. We understand the Village Board will be setting its agenda for the upcoming year this month. We hope that the agenda may include inviting public input on the provision and funding of specific services such as garbage collection (frequency, in light of what many believe is a decrease in garbage volume due to an assumed increase in recycling volume, and/or location) and leaf collection. In addition, the League suggests that the Board consider including on the agenda, the exploration of ways in which to increase non-property tax revenue, such as gross receipts tax on wireless phone service and installation of muni-meters, including on a phased-in basis, in the Village Center.
We thank you for the invaluable assistance and cooperation that was extended to us in our study of the proposed budget. We applaud the professionalism and dedication with which the Village Manager, Deputy Village Manager, Treasurer, Mayor Steves and the Trustees developed the budget. Thank you for considering our comments as you finalize the budget.
Sincerely,
Joan Taback Frankle Susie Rush
LWVS Village Budget Chair LWVS President
1 For example, if a municipality desires to retain its independence, it would likely be forced to rely primarily on property taxes to fund its expenditures. The municipality would then face the choice to stay under the tax cap, thereby requiring a reduction in expenses, likely resulting in a diminishment of services, or exceed the tax cap to maintain services.
New Home Valuations Now Available Online -See Whether Your Taxes Will Go Up or Down
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At long last – the Scarsdale Village Assessors Office has the announced the results of the Village-wide revaluation of all Village properties. The new valuations have now been posted online – allowing homeowners to find their new assessed value and calculate your estimated taxes for 2015.
Here's how to find out where you stand:
Go to www.scarsdale.com and click on the On-Line Property Inquiry link in the middle of the home page of the site.
On that page, look up your home address and find your new valuation which is highlighted by dark blue bars.
Find your new home value, and multiply the assessed value by a factor of .02241 (the 2015 estimated tax rate) to find out what your real estate taxes will be under the new assessment.
For example, if your home is valued at $1,000,000, multiply that by .02241 to find that your new estimated taxes would be $22,410.
To see whether your taxes have gone up or down, look at your record on the site to see your 2013 tax levy. Remember these new valuations will not go into effect until 2015, so for 2014 you will pay taxes based on your previous assessed value.
If you have questions about your new valuation, the Village Assessor's office will direct you to speak to a representative from Tyler Technologies, the company that conducted the revaluation. They will be conducting informal review meetings for the purposes of answering your questions.
Meetings will be held from March 31 – April 26 during the following hours:
Monday - Friday ............. 9 am - 5 pm
Monday and Wednesday ........ 6 pm - 8 pm
Saturdays ....... 11 am - 4 pm
You can make an appointment for a meeting with Tyler Technologies at Scarsdale Congregational Church by calling 722-1324, between 9 and Monday through Friday. All informal review meetings will be held in the basement-level offices of the Scarsdale Congregational Church at 1 Heathcote Road and residents are asked to park across the street.
What happened to your tax bill – did it go up or down? Share your story in the comments section below.
Raising Awareness About Child Sex Trafficking in Westchester
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On April 2nd, State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Sarah Porter from a group called End Child Prostitution And Trafficking (ECPAT) and Stuart Perrin, author of "Little Sisters" and founder of a safe house in Nepal sat on a panel at the Scarsdale Library to discuss the realities of child trafficking in our own backyard. They asked for a call to action against this $32 billion industry that enslaves 27 million people around the world, including over 200,000 in America.
Stuart Perrin began by describing human trafficking as "...one of the most important issues in the U.S. and internationally today." He ran a safe house in Kathmandu, Nepal for four years in hopes of saving girls between the ages of 8-14 from a life of prostitution and slavery. Young Nepalese girls are worth a lot of money in India. "Pimps" woo the fathers of these girls in remote villages, offering them $200 for their daughters, an amount equivalent to as much as twenty years of a salary in Nepal. These girls are usually one of many children, so they may be sold by their fathers with empty promises of returning home, rich from their time in India. However, if the girl returns disease-ridden rather than wealthy, often the family will not welcome their daughters home. "By starting this safe house," he stated, "there's the chance that we have saved up to 10,000 girls from a lifetime of slavery." He pointed out that his audiences are almost always women, as was the audience at the Scarsdale Library that night. "Women understand it, but men are deeply involved, too," he said. Perrin added, "In a place like Nepal, this often occurs because of extreme poverty. In the U.S., it commonly occurs in dysfunctional families."
Amy Paulin spoke next, chronicling New York State's laws regarding human trafficking. In 2006, as 
Executive Director of "My Sister's Place" in White Plains she first became aware of this issue. In 2007, New York became a precedent-setting state by adopting the first law in the country to make sex trafficking a crime. "Before this, pimps could be accused of other crimes," she said, "but not sex trafficking. This law turned that into a crime." In 2008, the Safe Harbor Bill was passed designating young girls through age 15 as victims, not criminals. But prosecutors needed still more to convict pimps, and in 2012, a bill was passed that made sex trafficking a violent crime while increasing the age a girl was a victim to 16. By acknowledging that these girls are victims, they are treated as such and can access services. In the last few months, Westchester Police (using a Safe Harbor grant) have identified 35 girls from Yonkers alone that were sex trafficking victims. Ms. Paulin pointed out that under federal law (not state law,) for girls under the age of 17, sex as a prostitute is not considered rape, but in all other cases it would considered statutory rape.
Sarah Porter, a Development Associate at ECPAT spoke about how girls who become victims of prostitution don't usually choose to sell sex for money. Many girls become vulnerable as runaways or residents of foster or group homes where they have little support. "It's so important to help change people's attitudes here about prostitution," Ms. Porter emphasized. "How can a 12-year-old or 14-year old make a rational decision to become a prostitute? The answer is they can't, and they are victims of sex trafficking." Ms. Porter visits schools where she educate students on this issue, using a peer-to-peer leader learning methodology. ECPAT also works with the tourism and hotel industry to develop codes of conduct. "We have partnered with some well-known hotels and airlines to make sure staff are trained on the specifics of sex trafficking and can identify a victim," she said. "No hotel wants to appear in a newspaper for a child sex trafficking bust, so there's something in it for them." ECPAT seeks to increase awareness, advocate for victims, ensure that policy helps the victims and fights for improved legislation.
Ms. Paulin ended the evening with some real stories of girls who were victims of child sex trafficking in Westchester. "One girl I met was the daughter of a doctor who ran away from home. Her pimp continuously threatened to hurt her sister if she tried to leave," she shared. "Another," she continued, "was kidnapped at the age of 9 and kept in a closet. She was beaten regularly then sold to another pimp. She finally got out at age 14." "We have to make pimps accountable for their actions," Ms. Paulin reiterated. "New laws will make sure perpetrators are held accountable for their decisions. No more saying 'she looked older'."
Carolyn Gallagher, an audience member representing the Ursuline School said that John Jay College published a study concluding that 45% of sexually exploited children in New York City are exploited in hotel rooms.
Another audience member said, "If you have a $32 billion demand for this type of service, what do you do about the demand side of things? How do you prevent this from happening in the first place." Ms. Paulin responded, "My bills address this demand by strengthening the penalties against the people committing the crime."
Another audience member stated, "I don't mean to sound old fashioned, but it seems to me that kids today look like baby hookers. Kids try to have sex appeal earlier and earlier. Young girls go clubbing. What can we do about this?" Ms. Paulin said, "We need to be careful that we never blame the girls for what they look like. If they feel vulnerable, that's the approach the pimps will use. Victims are not usually the best- dressed and best looking girls. They prey on vulnerabilities."
So what can you do? If you suspect a child sex trafficking situation, call 911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888 373 7888. To raise awareness or get involved, donate to ECPAT or to Little Sisters. Also write to your legislators. There are two lobby days coming up in Albany on May 7th and May 13th. You can even become a foster parent, although one person recommended first gaining experience by hosting a child for a short amount of time through the Fresh Air Fund.
Edgemont School Foundation Announces $500,000 Pledge to the District
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On March 25, the Edgemont School Foundation announced a $500,000 pledge to the School District in support of its Five-Year Capital Facilities Plan, addressing the Edgemont School District's critical need to upgrade facilities and infrastructure.
A press release from the foundation's Board of Directors says they "strongly believe that the proposed capital improvements – including enhanced security and accessibility, repairs of infrastructure, a new multimedia lab as well as much needed renovation of athletic fields – are not only imperative, but also fit squarely within the Foundation's mission to "ensure and enhance the value of an Edgemont education." The Board said that these capital improvements will benefit every Edgemont student as well as the larger community for decades to come, which was a key factor in the Foundation's decision.
Co-Chair Steven Heineman, said, "Our financial support for the capital improvements is easily our largest grant ever to the school district. Importantly, given the generous contributions from the hundreds of community members who support the Foundation each year and conservative estimates of returns on the Foundation's investment portfolio, we expect to not only honor this fifteen year pledge, but to be in a position to continue to award grants going forward – without reducing the Foundation's endowment."
Dr. Victoria Kniewel, School Superintendent, thanked the Edgemont School Foundation, saying, "We are so grateful for the Foundation's extremely generous pledge. The pledge not only represents a substantial financial commitment, it also clearly demonstrates the broad-based community support for this capital facilities initiative. A major component of a successful school district is a strong partnership with parents. In Edgemont, this partnership moves to an extraordinary level through the generosity of the School Foundation."
Foundation Co-Chair Andrew Falk added, "We congratulate the Edgemont Board of Education for its leadership and vision at this critical juncture for Edgemont's schools. We are very pleased to provide our support for this historic initiative and look forward to continuing to work the school board to ensure that the Edgemont School District – the very center of our community – maintains its tradition of excellence."
About the Edgemont School Foundation:
Founded in 1993 by a group of concerned parents, school administrators and alumni, the Edgemont School Foundation (the "Foundation"), through its endowment, awards monetary grants that support and enhance the Edgemont School District's curriculum, its students, and its teachers. ESF's endowment is funded primarily through private donations. The Foundation is a fully qualified IRS 501(c)(3) not-for- profit charity. The Foundation has awarded approximately $2.0 million in grants to the District since inception. For more information, or to donate to the Foundation, visit our website at www.EdgemontSchoolFoundation.org.
