THE ASSEMBLY 
Committee on Banks
STATE r: EW YO RK Gamma
ALBANY Gm

Ethics and Guidance
Governmental Employees
Judiciary
Labor
Malorlty Steering;

 

KENNETH ZEBROWSKE
District
Rockland County

August 11, 2017

Hon. Demeza Delhomme
Mayor, Village of Spring Valley
200 Main Street

Spring Valley, NY 10977

Dear Mayor Delhomme:

1 am writing you to express my deep concerns with the recent errors in the Village?s property tax
bills and. planned ?tax relief? program 

First, I am concerned with the errors that were made in applying the incorrect Village tax rate
across both Towns (Clarkstown and Ramapo); ignoring the different assessment levels and
failing to equalize these assessments. These mistakes have caused widespread con?tsion among
Village residents and have led to dramatic increases to resident tax bills. As you know, the tax
bills applied a uniform rate of $1 14 per $1,000 across both Towns without equalizing the
assessments. The correct tax rates should have been $55 per $1,000 for Clarkstown and $135 per
$1,000. This led to the Clarkstown portion of the Village seeing tax bills that skyrocketed.
Despite the Clarkstown tax bills being corrected, the Ramapo residents? tax rate should have
been increased in order to fully correct this situation.

The Village has since moved forward with a targeted ?tax relief? program called the 
program which will provide Ramapo residents of the Village with a rebate of up to 95% of a
Village tax increase. My concerns are two?fold. First, this unfairly excludes Clarkstown Village
residents from the program. A ?tax relief? program must have uniform criteria and be applied
fairly. Ramapo residents of the Village saw an increase stemming from the use of the Town of
Ramapo?s assessment which in some cases ?uctuated significantly from the previous Village
assessment. The Ramapo residents actually are underpaying their portion of the Village
($114 vs. $135 per $1,000). Clarkstown residents of the Village have similarly seen increases to
their Village tax bills due to the change in assessment from the Village to the Town but are
ineligible for the tax relief program.

Secondly and more importantly, a tax relief program such as must be authorized by
the State Legislature. There are many examples of state authorized local tax relief programs. The
current structure of is not allowable by State law and opens the Village up to
unnecessary litigation. In addition, the tax relief program could severely place ?scal stress on the
Village and encumber future Village administrations with this problem.

ALBANY OFFECE: Room 4-24, Legislative Office Building, Albany, New York 12248 5184555735, 518-455-5561
OFFSCE: 6? North Main Street, Floor, New City, New York 10986 a 845634?9791, FAX: 84383440531
EMAEL: wwnyassemhiygov

 

   
   

I am calling on the Village to convene a meeting with the Ramapo and Clarkstown Assessors,
NYS Department of Taxation and Rockland County Of?ce of Real Property to discuss how to
legally and fairly move forward with correct tax bills for Village residents. It is apparent that

mistakes were made but in order to correct them we need to collaborate rather than create further
issues for Village residents.

Sincerely,

Kenneth P. Ze?browski
Member of Assembly

Cc: Village of Spring Valley Trustees

Tom MacRobbie, Acting Town of Ramapo Assessor

Scott Shedler, Town of Clarkstowm Assessor

Yitzchok Ullman, Acting Supervisor, Town of Ramapo

George Hoehmann, Supervisor, Town of Clarkstown

Nonie Manion, Acting Commissioner, New York Department of Taxation and Finance