Correspondence to Lancaster Town Board on condo changes

[Lee Chowaniec]

On December 8th a 3 pm assessment meeting is scheduled at Town Hall. Along with aged, veteran, and other exemption potential changes Assessor Rebecca Baker will review the changes in Condominium Law 339-y with town board members. It is an open meeting, the public can attend, but not allowed to speak. In lieu of that condition, I submitted written comments as I believe the public has the right to have input on the changes, now or in the future.


November 30, 2022

Lancaster Town Board

Re: Condominium Law 339-y


Honorable Board Members:

At the November 7th Town Board work session Town Assessor Rebecca Baker presented the changes in Condominium Law 339-y regarding exemption allowance. There is a scheduled assessment meeting for December 8th to again review the exemption law changes. In lieu of the changes enacted on Condominium Law 339-y, I offer the following comments.

At the November 7th town board work session Assessor Rebecca Baker stated:

“The state passed a law which no longer allows homes like the one on Blackstone, individual free-standing homes, to receive condo status,” declared Baker. “What is currently there will be grandfathered in forever. However, any new condo homes like that would not get the discount. However, they (Albany Legislature) are also offering to each municipality taxing area the opportunity to say, ‘we don’t want any condo status.’ So even the ones that are like patio homes, the townhouses, those that currently get condo status, the board can say ‘we don’t want to offer that.’ That requires action, resolution, local law…”

Baker said she was just bringing this to the board’s attention because 2023 is soon and decisions will have to be made. Councilman Leary asked whether the condo status change would only affect new builds. He was told that was the change which only makes sense. Those already receiving condo status should not be punished for what was the law at the time. Baker declared all this has to be settled by March 1, 2023, taxable status day.


Fairness

Assessor Baker stated: Those already receiving condo status should not be punished for what was the law at the time. In fairness, at the time the homeowner sells their dwelling that significant assessment reduction should be terminated – reverted to any new reduction determined by the town.

Over the years I have been very vocal on the excessive assessment reductions provided to Homeowner Associations (HOA’s) that far exceed their costs to provide for services not provided by the town – infrastructure, road repair and paving, snow removal, etc. Assessments reductions of 40-50% that exceeded their entire HOA fee.

In fairness, I believe HOA’s should receive compensation for the services they pay to provide services that the town does not provide. It is not rocket science for an HOA to determine those costs. There is disparity when it comes to HOA age, value, etc. The town should be able to come up with an equitable deduction percentage formula.

In fairness, the town’s 1996 ‘no conversion’ clause that prohibited HOA’s from receiving Condominium 339-y Law tax reduction consideration should be revisited. Those Associations were already HOA’s, petitioned for receiving compensation, and were denied. Denied because occupancy had taken place before petitioning for condo status tax relief. Thirteen such HOA’s, 665 units are paying full town taxes and receiving no compensation for services not provided by the town. Of the 13 HOA’s not receiving assessment reductions, 398 of the 665 units come from 5 HOA’s. It is time to revisit that unjust decision and right that wrong.

Lee Chowaniec
Lancaster, NY

CC:

Town Board members
Assessor Rebecca Baker
Attorney Tom Fowler

[yaksplat]

Everyone should pay the full tax rate. At the end of the year the HOA's should submit costs to the town and then get reimbursed, which would in turn reimburse their members.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Everyone should pay the full tax rate. At the end of the year the HOA's should submit costs to the town and then get reimbursed, which would in turn reimburse their members.

Indeed! It would only be fair to compensate patio, townhome, and condominium HOA’s dwellers for providing services not provided by the municipality, and those paying full town taxes subsidizing recipients of Condominium Law-339-y who receive assessment and tax reductions of such size that they often exceed their entire HOA Association fee.

In the past several years the Town of Lancaster has twice memorialized Albany for authority to manage its own assessing / taxing system. Well, the board now has that authority and hopefully will act to right a wrong that has existed in this town of decades.

A law that was originally passed to compensate high rise building dwellers in New York City and later was bastardized by builders and corrupt politicians to include patio homes, townhome, and condominium HOA’s. Builders used it as a marketing tool to sell homes / affording bigger homes in lieu of receiving generous tax breaks from assessment reductions of 40%, or more.

And all we hear is: Everyone should pay their fair share in taxes! The town now has the ability to make that happen, right a wrong that has been going on for too long!