Letter from David Petri

Why Were We Singled Out?

When Otsego County residents received their property tax bills last week, those observing residents of Hartwick were again in shock. We were told by the county that there would be a 5 percent increase but instead found an increase of 13.1 percent. This aroused my curiosity and even more so when a friend in Oneonta town said his went down .5 percent. I then looked into some other towns, and found increases for Laurens at 5.3 percent, Middlefield at 4.6 percent, Milford at 7.6 percent, Morris at 7.2 percent, Richfield at 7.5 percent, and Otsego at 2.1 percent. This is not anything new for Hartwick residents, as we also got pounded on the Cooperstown school taxes.

Of course, like any responsible citizen this gave me cause and concern to ask questions. I went to Joe in the tax office and did learn that the state has a formula to determine equalization rates which was used for both school and property tax determinations. Do these rates sound equal to you? I also talked to Carol McGovern, clerk of the county board, and Alan Ruffles, county treasurer. Last September when I questioned the school tax, I talked to several county reps about this situation.

I find it extremely hard to understand why Hartwick town taxes should increase at all and common sense would leave one to think we should be paying very little if any tax at all. Hartwick has had more activity than perhaps any town in the county. Hotels, dining places, homes being built all over the place and large bed tax revenues.

It is appalling that the Otsego county board gave a 10-year tax exemption to the large hotel on the Hickey property on State Route 28 in Hyde Park. Perhaps if they had given Hickey a 10-year tax exemption on the 215-year-old tavern—a historic landmark important to the history of Otsego County—it would still be standing. Located in almost the exact center of Otsego County on the main artery running into Cooperstown for all those years. Is it wrong to give incentives to incorporate the old with the new? The county board members deny that they gave the 10-year exemption and place the blame on Otsego Now. Yet let’s be truthful: They are to blame, for they are the ones who appointed those members to Otsego Now. No one other than the Town of Hartwick citizens should in any way be giving tax exemptions in our town—not the county or the state, and perhaps this should be taken to court. What ever happened to home rule?

I find that in most areas in our county it is hard to get answers. It is hard to contact county reps and they and others often do not know or want to know the answers. As of now, no one knows or can explain how the state determines and established the equalization rates. Apparently, they feel that properties are not being assessed at the full rate and that they know more about the values without looking at the properties than the assessors themselves. If that be the case, why do we need assessors at all?

The question is why is Hartwick being singled out when it is one of the chief donors to the county coffers? If you have a county tax increase of 5 percent, then it should be the same for all the towns throughout the county. When are the county reps going to stand up to the state and say enough is enough? Perhaps it is time for Hartwick residents to unify and have a class action lawsuit against the county of Otsego and the state of New York.

David Petri
Hartwick