Published: March 25, 2008 10:42 pm      

ERIE COUNTY: County eyes controlling assessments

A report released by Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz Tuesday estimates that taxpayers could save millions if the county handled property assessments.

The report examines the costs that local real property assessments present to the county’s municipalities and New York State financial incentives for local and county governments transitioning to countywide assessment. The findings revealed that New York State has 1,133 assessing units, compared to California’s 59. Erie County alone has 30 separate governments performing assessments, and a consolidation to a county-wide system could save a substantial amount of money, Poloncarz said.

“Our report demonstrates that the costs to taxpayers of local assessment is significant and growing,” Poloncarz said. “Given inequities in the existing system and the potential to save millions of dollars annually, the county and local governments should examine the rationale for local assessment and consider a new approach.”

The data shows Erie County's 30 local assessing units to have 39 chief assessing officials and 130 budgeted positions working in assessing roles at a cost to local taxpayers of $6.5 million annually, not including fringe benefits. Town of Tonawanda Assessor David Unmack said his office has three full-time and three part-time positions in addition to his own. Only two of those people are actually involved in appraising, with the rest dedicated to clerical work like filing exemptions for seniors.

“It’s very possible that consolidation could save money,” Unmack said. “I’ve suggested previously that the state consolidate into regional assessment areas, so I wouldn’t be at all critical.”

One benefit would be assessor specialization, with personnel able to focus on specific property areas like retail, commercial, industrial and residential. Towns can’t allow for that level of specialization with their limited staffs, Unmack said.

State incentives, such as a $5 payment for each parcel in the county if the county reassesses all properties each year at 100 percent of market value, could net the county $1.8 million each year just for doing its job, Poloncarz said. For the first year, that money probably would be used to establish the facilities and hire staff necessary to the county’s new operations. But after that, the County Executive and County Legislature would be able to spend the funds as they see fit, Poloncarz said.

There are two options for a countywide system, using either in-house assessors or hiring contractors to do the job. Contractors would cost approximately $3.1 million and in-house operations could cost between $2.6 million and $4.4 million, depending on how many assessors are hired, Poloncarz said.

Regional offices might also be necessary, since seniors who need to come in to file exemptions probably wouldn’t want to go all the way to downtown Buffalo, Unmack said.

The plan would be a move toward reducing the area’s duplication of services, but the next step is getting county and municipal leaders on board with the plan, Poloncarz said.

“It’s being presented to the Legislature and the executive, and they can state that they want to do it, but we have to have the towns on board,” Poloncarz said. “It wouldn’t be easy to do, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something we should do.”

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.