North Tonawanda plans to carry out a citywide reassessment for the first time since 2009.
The common council awarded a $550,000 contract to Williamsville-based GAR Associates to carry out the reassessment over the next two years. The measure was approved at Tuesday’s meeting by a 4-1 vote, with Alderman Joseph Lavey voting against.
“The question that is brought up is if not today, when?” said Mayor Austin Tylec. “It’s something that has to be maintained.”
North Tonawanda’s current assessment rate is 44%, with the city collecting around $22 million in property taxes. That tax levy would not change after the reassessment as taxes would be redistributed, with around one-third of taxpayers seeing their liabilities go down, one-third remaining the same, and one-third going up.
Tylec and the common council members noted that the reassessment will help ensure large companies that operate in North Tonawanda, like Walmart, Walgreens, and the operators of River Road apartments, would pay their fair share of taxes, with their reductions costing the city tens of millions in revenue. Council President Gabrielle Richards noted that the Walmart at 886 Niagara Falls Blvd. paid $224,000 in city, county, and school taxes.
They added that the companies have fought their reassessments in the past through Article 7 proceedings, having the resources and lawyers to do so, which residents do not have.
City Assessor Barbara Klenke also said that the utility companies operating in North Tonawanda, like National Fuel, National Grid, Verizon, Spectrum, Greenlight Networks, and FirstLight Fiber, have a total assessed value of around $48 million. At the current assessed rates, the city is losing $20 million.
City residents spent the first hour of the meeting stating how potential increased tax payments would hurt retirees and poorer residents, with some saying they might move if their taxes get too high. Jill Luly, who lives on Homestead Drive, brought up how she is 10 years away from retirement and lives paycheck to paycheck to keep up with her taxes. Jacob Quinn, a Cambridge Avenue resident, said that companies would not want to invest in the city either if they keep getting taxed.
“Public trust requires both fairness in assessments and accountability in how the money is spent,” said resident Sonia Dusza. “This is a most important thing because it affects our pocketbook and many other areas like quality of life.”
Tylec noted that because of the decreased assessment rate, those who qualify for state STAR exemptions are not getting their full discount, which is another thing equalization would ensure.
GAR Associates was the only bidder for this work, having also worked the recent joint reassessment done in the towns of Porter and Lewiston. Their listed scope of services for this includes collecting commercial and residential property data, and creating web videos, press releases, and podcasts about the reassessment. Their full proposal can be found on the City of North Tonawanda website.
Their proposal notes that no public meetings are included, saying that in their experience the videos created would allow property owners to educate themselves. Additional fees may apply if public meetings are requested.
The whole process would last until July 1, 2028, when the final assessment rolls are complete. The new assessments will be applied to city and school taxes in September 2028 and county taxes starting January, 2029.