Why Reassessment?

The City of Troy has not completed a comprehensive reassessment of its tax roll in thirty-four years.  As a result of this, many homeowners in Troy are paying taxes that do not accurately reflect the values of their homes.  The City is currently attempting to build support for a citywide reassessment in order to remedy this problem.  The reassessment is a very complex and controversial undertaking, especially in this difficult economic time.
 

A reassessment will examine every single building in the city of Troy in order to determine its value.  Since it has been so long since the last citywide reassessment, many of the values recorded on the books may not necessarily be accurate anymore. The role of a reassessment is for every Trojan’s tax bill to reflect their share of the tax burden according to their property’s value as accurately as possible.
 

Another important reason to reassess is that many businesses with the resources to challenge their assessments are winning, costing the city money in legal fees and reimbursement of taxes.  It is difficult for the city to defend itself in these disputes because the assessment is so far out of date, meaning the city loses and must repay taxes the courts determine were unfairly collected.
 

The assessed value is used to calculate the owner’s property taxes by showing the portion of the tax levy the owner is responsible for.  The actual amount of taxes is determined by the amount of taxes the city chooses to levy.  When the city determines how much it will collect overall in taxes, it uses the assessed values to determine how much of that each property owner will pay.

A reassessment does cause some problems for Troy, however.  It will cost the city at least $1 million to complete a reassessment, which is not easily affordable in this time of declining revenues.  Also, there is concern that some senior citizens living on fixed incomes may be forced out of their homes by unaffordable taxes if their assessments are raised by a reassessment.

The city will be conducting informational meetings throughout the city throughout March, and the City Council will vote on the measure at their April 1st meeting.  A list of informational meetings is below

• Monday March 22, 6:30 PM, Franklin Terrace Ballroom, 126 Campbell Ave.
• Tuesday March 23, St. Mary’s Church, 196 Third St.
• Wednesday March 24, 6:30 PM, Troy YMCA, 2500 21st St.
• Thursday March 25, Sacred Heart School Cafeteria, 310 Spring Ave.