Job of the Assessor
The assessor’s responsibility is to provide fair and equitable Assessed Valuations to all real property located in the Town of Yorktown.
In addition to valuation, the assessor’s duties include, but are not limited to, maintenance of ownership information, implementation of whole and partial property exemptions and assisting in the defense of litigation through grievance, small claims and certiorari proceedings.
The assessor performs many other administrative functions, such as inspecting new construction and major improvements to existing structures. This ensures that the record of each property's physical inventory is current and that the appropriate improvements are assessed.
The assessor also approves and keeps track of property tax exemptions. Among the most common are:
•Senior citizens exemption,
•School Tax Relief (STAR),
•Veterans exemption,
•Agricultural, and
•Business exemptions.
The assessor reviews every transfer of real property for accuracy, including the basic information on the buyer, seller, and sale price. Assessment records are updated, and any unusual conditions affecting the transfer are also verified.
Where can I go with questions?
The assessor is continually communicating with the public, answering questions, and dealing with concerns raised by taxpayers. Anyone can examine the assessment roll and property records at any time.
It is up to individual property owners to monitor their own assessments. Taxpayers who feel they are not being fairly assessed should meet with their assessor before the tentative assessment roll is established. In an informal setting, the assessor can explain how the assessment was determined and the rationale behind it.
Assessors are interested only in fairly assessing property in their assessing unit. If your assessment is correct and your tax bill still seems too high, the assessor cannot change that. Complaints to the assessor must be about how property is assessed.
Taxpayers unhappy with growing property tax bills should not be concerned only with assessments. They should also examine the scope of budgets and expenditures of the taxing jurisdictions (counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, and so on.) and address those issues in appropriate and available public forums.
Informal meetings with assessors to resolve assessment questions about the next assessment roll can take place throughout the year. If, after speaking with your assessor, you still feel you are unfairly assessed, the booklet, contesting your assessment in New York State describes how to prepare and file a complaint with the Board of Assessment Review for an assessment reduction, and indicates the time of year it can be done. Grievance Day is the third Tuesday in June and grievance application can be submitted from June 1st until the third Tuesday in June.
