Conklin assessor defends $101 flood‑buyout assessments; council member calls practice unfair

Town Assessor John H. McDonald told the Town Board that New York State law requires the owner of a property on the tax roll at bill time to pay taxes in full, and that if the Town took title to flood‑buyout parcels before the tax roll was set the municipality would become liable for significant tax bills.

McDonald detailed the Town’s approach in a written letter distributed at the Dec. 10 meeting: "By New York State law, the owner of a property at the time tax bills are issued is responsible to pay the taxes in full. ... To prevent this ridiculously high expense from being incurred by the Town, we reduced the assessments on the flood buy‑out list properties to $101 ($100 for the land and $1 for the building)." He said the reductions were intended to avoid a potential six‑figure hit to the Town budget if dozens of damaged properties remained on the roll while still owned by the Town following acquisitions.

Councilman Jerry Minoia pressed a policy objection, saying "I believe that any property that is being used or lived in does not deserve a $101 assessment." Minoia argued that lowering occupied properties to token values shifts tax burdens onto other taxpayers and called for handling tax adjustments explicitly at closings to avoid perceived "free rides." Supervisor James Finch said he would ask McDonald to meet the Board again on Jan. 14 to answer follow‑up questions.

The record also shows McDonald disputed an earlier public comment about a particular property’s assessment history, noting the parcel was lowered to $101 only after it was put onto the buyout list and that state grievance actions had altered valuations in prior years. The Board did not take formal action on assessments at the meeting; members instructed staff to provide additional documentation and scheduled an opportunity for further review at the January meeting.