Some Syracuse homeowners can breathe a sign of relief now that a city-wide property reassessment is off the table. The Walsh administration has been pursuing the ambitious plan in an effort to better balance tax inequities among the city’s more than 41,000 properties.
Common councilors are refusing to spend #1.8 million to hire a firm to do the reassessment. Finance committee chair Corey Williams made their intentions known at a meeting reviewing the council’s agenda.
“Item 62 is going to be withdrawn," Williams said.
“Sorry to hear that. Thank you all," replied Commissioner of Assessment Matt Oja, with a note of sarcasm.
Oja has been trying for months on behalf of the mayor’s office to convince councilors to embrace a comprehensive revaluation plan. It’s become an issue in the Democratic mayoral primary, and may be why councilors killed it. Deputy mayor and candidate Sharon Owens said during a debate last month revaluation would equalize property values.
“...so people on one side of town are not paying the same tax that people on the other side of town when the value of the homes are not the same," Owens said. "Just last year, my home was re assessed and I had a tax increase. Well, the value of my home also increased and so we need to move this along.”
But primary opponent and common councilor Pat Hogan said not so fast.
“When you talk about re-val, everybody thinks their taxes are going up. And I don't want to excite the populace anymore," Hogan said. "We're in trouble. People can't afford what they're living right now for a stable way of life. We have to think back about what we're going to, how we're going to accomplish this.”
Fellow councilor and primary candidate Chol Majok agrees.
“As a man raising a young family, Syracuse is already drowning," Majok said. "And to continue to add more into the few taxpayers to pay more, it's just not the right time to do it.”
In fact, the numbers suggest only about a third of homeowners would see their taxes increase, and another third would stay the same. The lowest-income residents would likely see a decrease. To be clear, the city will continue to re-assess properties, albeit at a much slower pace.
