Irondequoit residents report large increases in assessed property values. How to challenge your reassessment

Bethany Baller Donoghue was floored last week when she received notice of a $110,000 assessment increase for her modest Irondequoit home.

When she bought her 1,700-square-foot split-level home on Parkmere Road for $121,000 in 1999, it was the least expensive home in a desirable neighborhood near Lake Ontario and Durand Eastman Park. Years later, following the town's 2018 reassessment, it was valued at $146,500. But she was shocked by the town's latest reassessment to $257,000.

"For that I could have purchased another home in addition to mine," she quipped.

Irondequoit residents like Baller Donoghue in the last week received letters from the town assessor’s office outlining changes in assessed property values. Irondequoit's Assessor Amy Jorstad said that "every single property" in Irondequoit was reassessed, which is nearly 21,200 properties.

"I'm not happy and flat out cannot afford the taxes," Baller Donoghue said. "To jack me up that amount is just not fair, especially when I look at other towns and see these beautiful amenities and we just don't have them."

Jorstad said she understands residents' frustration.

"People are worried how it will impact their wallets and how a reassessment could change how they spend their hard-earned money," she said.

How to challenge your reassessment

Residents who don’t think their preliminary 2023 assessments accurately reflect the market value of their properties may challenge them by scheduling an informal review with the assessor’s office by calling (585) 935-5035 by Friday, April 7.

Hundreds of people have already scheduled informal hearings to challenge their reassessments and some of those hearings have already taken place. The Buffalo-based appraisal firm Emminger Newton Pigeon and Magyar Inc. is handling the town's informal review process.

Informal hearings will be conducted by phone or Zoom, and people with questions should call (585) 532-5090. Property owners should prepare to argue their case.

Decisions about potential assessment changes will not be made during the reviews, but will be sent to property owners when the tentative assessment roll is filed May 1, Jorstad said. Follow-up property inspections may be requested before decisions are made, according to the town.

Anyone who wants challenge their assessment and misses the deadline for an informal review may schedule a grievance hearing with the assessor’s office after May 1 by calling (585) 336-6055. A Grievance Day application should be filled out at tax.ny.gov and filed with the assessor’s office after May 1 and by 8 p.m. May 23 (which is Grievance Day).

What to know about the reassessment

"Market values in Irondequoit have been on the increase," Jorstad said. "When you have a lot of market change (as Irondequoit has in recent years) you need to reassess."

Jorstad emphasized the goal is to make sure assessments reflect the true market value of Irondequoit properties.

Originally, Irondequoit planned to complete its town-wide reassessment in 2022, the first since 2018.

However, it paused the process when the contractor hired to determine property values came back with suggested increases of 30% to 50%. Some residents expressed skepticism, given that real estate prices have been driven to new heights by pressures created by the coronavirus pandemic. Although, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the nearly a third of Monroe County's towns - Chili, Greece, Henrietta, Penfield, Riga, Rush and Sweden - completed the most recent reassessments in 2021 and 2022.

In March of last year, officials said delaying until 2023 would give the contractor more time to compile and revisit data and for the town to produce tax-impact estimates based on the new preliminary assessments.

Notices being mailed to residents include how the estimated changes will reflect their tax bills - for some residents taxes will increase, for others it will decrease. However, the form points out that those figures are estimates based on the prior year’s tax levies and do not represent the actual amount that would be owed.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: How to challenge your home reassessment in Irondequoit NY