Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation to Help Clarkstown Taxpayers

Supervisor Hoehmann, Town Board Adopt at Special Meeting

PRESS RELEASE – Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and Senator David Carlucci announced that the Governor has signed bill, S6430/A7513, into law. The bill limits the shift between classes of taxable property in the Town of Clarkstown.

Every year the town adopts adjusted base proportions, and every year it could shift between homeowners and commercial properties. The adjusted base proportions are used to determine the taxable assessed value for each of the individual classes, therefore, shifts in these amounts could cause larger than normal tax increases, which would result in uncertainty for the taxpayer.

“This is a victory for the hard working taxpayers of Clarkstown and represents government at its best — putting the people’s interest first,” said Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann.  “By adopting this legislation, the Town Board has provided stability for every taxpayer allowing residents and businesses to budget better.  I want to thank Governor Cuomo, Assemblyman Zebrowski and Senator Carlucci for standing up for Clarkstown and to Clarkstown Assessor Scott Shedler for his tenacious effort and foresight on this new policy.”

“Fluctuations between commercial and residential tax classes can lead to confusing tax increases for homeowners and businesses. This legislation limits those shifts in the Town of Clarkstown to 1 percent a year, smoothing out the effects on taxpayers. The bill provides for a more predictable and fair process for taxpayers; saving up to 3 percent on tax bills from what the current law would have prescribed. I thank Supervisor Hoehmann and Clarkstown Assessor Scott Shedler for working with us to make this technical change that has a real tax impact on many residents. I also thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill quickly so that it could take effect this year,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski.

“This new law will help us safeguard property taxpayers from bearing an unfairly large share of the local tax burden in areas where many new developments are taking place,” Senator Carlucci explained. “In order to keep our community affordable, we have to make sure that the local government is able to maintain tax fairness for everyone in the community.  We want to make sure we are protecting taxpayers so families can afford to live here.”

The Clarkstown Town Board held a special Town Board Meeting on July 31, 2017 and unanimously passed a resolution adopting the legislation before the August 1 statutory deadline. Clarkstown is the first town in Rockland County to enact this legislation.

  Andrew Cuomo, cuomo, hoehmann, town of clarkstown, Zebrowski