Treasurer Clarifies Hartwick Tax Increase

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
HARTWICK

In response to community concerns about increases in property taxes in the Town of Hartwick, County Treasurer Allen Ruffles explained the change at the town board’s January 20 work session. Residents had seen a total of a 13.1 percent increase.

Ruffles told attendees that for the prior year the total value of all property in the Town of Hartwick was about $306 million, according to New York State. “This year, they came in and said Hartwick is worth $360 million,” Ruffles said.

As a result, Ruffles said, the town must pay a greater portion of the county’s budget. That is a jump from 4.59 percent of the county budget to 4.99 percent. He said the Town of Springfield’s value also increased significantly, by 13.4 percent.

A major reason for the increase in value, Ruffles said, is that properties have sold for significantly more money than they have been assessed for. The state equalization formula for calculating value incorporates the sale numbers. The good news, Ruffles said, is that Hartwick grew more than any other town in the county.

The town’s last property reevaluation was conducted in 2008.

“The board absolutely has work to do to try and get back to 100 percent without an equalization factor,” Councilmember Bryan LoRusso told AllOtsego. “The fact of the matter is this—if the town doesn’t keep up with assessments, the state will come in and do it for us.”

Town Supervisor Cody Moore told AllOtsego she does not anticipate the town will be pursuing a townwide property reevaluation, which she said could cost as much as $300,000.00.

“I think what we need to do is we need to sit down with our assessor and the county and figure out a better game plan to be able to make sure that the county and our tax assessor are communicating better,” Moore said. “There are a lot of properties in Hartwick that are not assessed properly, and I think we need to figure out a way that we can address that.”