A Review of Property Tax Assessment Options for Chemung County

Publication Date: February 2009

Publisher: Center for Governmental Research Inc.

Author(s): Scott Sittig; Joseph Stefko

Research Area: Banking and finance; Government

Keywords: Public Finance; Government Management; Shared Services/Consolidation

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

In 2008, NYS provided grant funds to encourage counties to study how to streamline their local assessment programs to promote efficiency, equity and transparency for taxpayers, and the county engaged CGR for the study. Chemung County, a leader in shared service and consolidation projects in NY, chose to analyze the assessment structure in light of potential shared service opportunities.

At the time of the study, the county had a small County Real Property Tax Service office and many local municipalities that were either sharing an assessor or were part of a consolidated assessment program. Of particular concern in Chemung County was the issue of equity as some communities had not reassessed for decades--creating potential imbalances in the distribution of county and school taxes, distorting tax rates, and fostering a lack of understanding about the assessment function.