Jan. 15, 2014:  Although Bronxville taxpayers have no control over the tax rate (calculated to fund the major portion of the village's annual budget), they do have a measure of potential control over their property's assessed value.

The Village of Bronxville Board of Assessment Review will hear property tax appeals at the annual grievance day on Tuesday, February 18, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Bronxville Village Hall.

Owners of single-family homes, condominiums, and commercial properties, as well as co-op boards who plan to address the fairness of their tax assessments, can obtain instructions for filing a grievance from Gerry Iagallo, village tax assessment consultant, at 914-337-6500, ext. 122.
 
The village will publish its tentative tax assessment roll on February 1. Consult the tax assessor's page on the village website for current assessments.

Grievance applications with supporting documentation may be submitted between February 1 and February 18.  Applications before then will not be accepted.

Since single-family homes in the village are taxed at fair market value, owners seeking a property tax reduction must prove that recent sale prices of comparable homes in the neighborhood have decreased substantially. Taxpayers should research and supply recent sales data to the board. They should be aware that rising prices of nearby homes could undermine a grievance for a lower assessment.

Taxpayers have the option of representing themselves before the assessment review board or having a third party, such as an attorney, present their case.

Of the 37 residential grievances before the board last year, 13 were self-represented and 24 were represented by third parties. Third parties represented all 25 commercial grievances.

The assessment review board has seen the number of grievances decline by half since 2011 when it heard 124 grievances. Sixty-two property owners presented cases in 2013, resulting in $2.5 million in tax relief for residential properties and $225,000 for commercial properties.

Iagallo attributes the decrease in grievances to the village's adoption of randomly selecting one-third of properties for revaluation each year, plus properties sold and modified with building permits during the year. 

Under this approach, within three years all village properties will be revalued. Iagallo emphasized that the random selection process for properties involves only the section, block, and lot number and not the property address or owner's name.

"It's good news in that we're doing a better job," Iagallo said. "The numbers are getting fairer and fairer and it has a reward in that fewer people are complaining. It costs the village less to defend its position."

Serving on the assessment review board for 2013 are Robert Shearer, chairman, Lisa Connors, Christina Eldridge, John Hill, David Harris, and alternate Gene Piper.

Photo by N. Bower