Cha-ching, Cha-ching - There It Goes

ABG has previously written of the monthly certiorari adjustments the Town has scheduled for each public Town Board meeting. They average $100,000 in refunds per meeting. They are primarily being filed for, and granted to the larger businesses in Greenburgh. The adjustments are available to the smaller businesses as well as homeowners who typically don’t have the time, financial wherewithal or the staff of attorneys to do the paperwork to get the adjustments. Some may even believe it’s their civic responsibility to pay their fair share and don't mind paying a bit more. The problem with the adjustments isn’t about paying a fair share, but rather, paying double what you should!

Forty percent of the Town of Greenburgh is tax-exempt - 40%! Think about it; just under half of the Town’s properties are tax-exempt. That also means the balance of taxable/ratable property owners must make up the difference. Just imagine if your local taxes were half of what you are currently paying. You’d be in a much better position to purchase, donate, travel, go out, renovate your home (more purchasing), save or simply stay put in a home you may have spent most of your life in. But you can’t. In fact, to make sure you can’t, Supervisor Feiner penalizes Town residents with even higher, double-digit tax increases each year.

ABG was incensed to learn of a $2,250,000 certiorari tax adjustment filed in 2005 on behalf of 200, 220 and 230 White Plains Road, challenging the assessed values for the 200/220 White Plains Road properties from 2005 to 2011; as well as the 230 White Plains Road property from 2001 to this year. If you need a point of reference to know where the area is, it’s where the TGI Fridays restaurant and other office buildings are, south of Rt 119. The buildings fall in the unincorporated portion of Greenburgh and the Irvington School Districts. School Board President John Dawson claimed that these buildings were overtaxed through no fault of theirs (the school district) and that, “It’s great having corporations in your school district in good times, but in the bad times it hurts.” The schools district is a taxable entity, which ensures income for the district but relies on the Town's assessments for the amount.

The next major certiorari concession takes place in an already thorny area of Central Avenue on the opposite side of the Town of Greenburgh that affects the Edgemont School District. Thorny because Edgemont and the Town Supervisor are always at odds with each other. Challenging the six years of taxes paid from 2003 to 2009, is Dilmaghani & Company, at 540 Central Avenue, which maintain they should be refunded $434,106. The carpet store property abuts the European Health Spa building. It’s the round concrete building that’s been vacant for at least fourteen years and is a negative focal point to the community and Central Avenue. It's difficult to fathom why it has been allowed to remain in this condition for so long.

To add insult to injury, the owners of the property at 520 Central Avenue are expected to receive $115,000. The total of the two properties is $424,106. When you take that figure and add it to the other certiorari adjustment, we’re looking at just under $3,000,000; actually it’s $2,924,106. If everyone was paying their fair share of taxes, and the amount was evenly distributed amongst us all, it would be a bit less painful. So, whatever your hear proffered from our Supervisor, which we're sure he'll say isn't his fault, imagine only having to pay half as much.

We can stop paying these crippling certiorari adjustments if the Town would just perform a revaluation of the Town’s properties. But The Paul won’t do this. The reason he doesn’t do it comes down to the rule of threes: the first group will pay less in property taxes, the second group will remain unchanged, and the third group will see an increase in their property taxes. The third group typically consists of our senior citizens, whose property was last assessed when it was purchased way back in the day or whenever they might have added onto their home.

Certiorari adjustments are good things for those who get them. They’re not so good for the people who have to pay them - us. It’s time to stop the ‘giving away’ of our Town to developers, large corporations and anyone with unlimited funding for their attorneys, and do a revaluation. We can save our Town from imploding. We just need to get some responsive and responsible leadership. It’s time for Paul Feiner and his Board to go.