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Thread: Amherst Taxes

  1. #1
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    Amherst Taxes

    Under the hapless Kulpa, town taxes shot up a record over 13% in one year. Under Kulpa, Amherst town hall has become the personal outhouse for Mark Poloncarz. The dreck he has left behind is on the town payroll to the tune of over $750,000 in salary and fringe benefits. While Poloncarz and the political hack that passes for his health commissioner were shutting down privately owned skating rinks Kulpa opened the Northtown center to Poloncarz so he could sneak in there and play hockey with his buddies. It’s been well documented that Kulpa is working on a sweetheart assessment deal for the out of state billionaire who bought himself a pig in a poke known as Blvd. Mall. Kulpa is working diligently to transfer onto the backs of Amherst homeowners, the tax burden of a billionaire who made a bad deal for himself. And don’t believe for a minute that he’s the only super rich developer knocking on Kulpa’s door looking to transfer their tax burden onto the backs of the homeowners. Ka-ching. Ka-Ching. Of course under law the supervisor has no authority to set assessments. That job is for the assessor. But as Kulpa stated to the News he is setting the assessment for Blvd. Mall. He tried to backtrack on his statement later when he was called out on it but it was too late. A classic case of securing the agricultural outbuilding portal subsequent to the equine quadruped absconding.

  2. #2
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Are there any actions the home owners can take on that?

    If the assessment is dropping that really isn't the business owners fault. Malls are slowly dying as it is.

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    I have no objections to a legitimate assessment adjustment. That’s why the assessment process is to be handled by a properly qualified assessor who has the knowledge and experience to make the adjustments based on actual evidence of value and who has at least the limited protection from political pressure that is provided by the term of office authorized in state law. It’s not supposed to be handled by an elected official who might trade assessment breaks for campaign contributions. And the thing that makes it doubly galling to have Kulpa involved in assessments of commercial property for billionaire developers is that the record tax increases he has imposed on Amherst’s home owners show the level of contempt he has for the struggles of those home owners.

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    WNY, I didn’t answer your first question. Perhaps a taxpayer lawsuit seeking to overturn the assessment. But you can bet that it’s easy enough to cover up the improperly set assessment. Simply have the assessor enter as if he set it even if it’s dictated from politicians. The best solution would be to have the assessor assert his legal authority over the assessment process. A few years back a former supervisor announced that he was going to set assessments in the town. The town’s widely respected assessor opposed the supervisor and it got ugly. The assessor’s term ended and the supervisor refused to put his name forward for reappointment. But the other town board members wouldn’t agree to appoint anyone else so the assessor continued in his position as a holdover. He was still there when the supervisor walked out the door for the last time. It took courage to put ones career on the line to stand up for what’s right. Don’t look for too many expressions of courage from the meat puppets in town hall under a Kulpa.
    Last edited by grump; January 23rd, 2021 at 08:07 PM.

  5. #5
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Don’t look for too many expressions of courage from the meat puppets in town hall under a Kulpa.
    I don't get it. Your opinion my be biased but i see where you are coming from.

    The town of Cheektowaga may have an eye opener with the galleria mall. One hell of a tax payment comes from the mall.

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    WNY, how is anything I’ve posted biased? You can go on the state website for yourself and see that the supervisor is not authorized to set assessments. That power lies wholly and exclusively with the duly appointed assessor who is properly trained and certified to make those decisions. Assessments are not supposed to be set by politicians for reasons that are so obvious that they should need no explanation, which is exactly why politicians try to intrude themselves into the assessment process, particularly with respect to assessment reductions for properties owned by billionaires. Do you believe for a second that Kulpa would stick his nose into an assessment challenge filed by some unknown homeowner seeking to reduce his assessment by a couple of thousand bucks?

  7. #7
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    your not a fan of Kulpa so I could see you casting anything they do in a negative light....

    I would assume they know how the rules/laws work.

    Malls are dying. I wonder how they can come up with a value other than based on square footage of space. If they took comparisons of other "dead" empty malls the assessment would drop anyways.

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    I’m not a fan of Kulpa, especially in light of the 13% tax increase he imposed on the town’s homeowners. But the main point is that assessments are to be set by the assessor under the law of New York. The assessment process is supposed to be apolitical; it’s not supposed to be done by those continually raising funds to run for office. The reasons for this should be so obvious that even Kulpa can grasp them. I’m sure that Kulpa and the town’s assessor know how the laws work. That doesn’t mean they abide by them. Kulpa couldn’t have made it clearer in the News that he was setting the assessment for Blvd Mall, presumably with the consent of the out of state billionaire developer. As for what the assessor thought we have no idea. He wasn’t consulted by the News. Do you suppose it was because everyone involved knew he had no role in the process?
    Last edited by grump; January 25th, 2021 at 08:35 PM.

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