z2im, I'm sure that there are some good 'classic' conserv's out there. Just not here and just not now. And you are correct when you say the conserv's leadership are opportunists.(and cops)  And because of that, and for this Rotterdam Supevisor's election, it is imperative to vote for Mr.Tommasone and NOT Bill Cooke. At least for this election anyways.

People who are aware of the back room dealings that are going on, (and there are many) are hopeful that it will backfire in their face as the Kosiur sex sting did on the dems. Then pehaps, the conservs can get back on track with the idiology that made them what and who they 'were'!

The way that police pensions are computed has got to change. Their pensions should be just like everyone else's pension and they should not be able to fluff up the amount of their pensions by working unlimited OT during their last 3 years of employment. This practice has got to change as the residents all over this state can't afford this practice any longer. This is just one reason that our taxes keep increasing every year.  

I guess the municipality thinks the officers not too suave in managing their own retirement via 401k/IRA etc....so they do it for them.....

Or they are too busy scraping 'human waste' from the bottom of their boots....(that's why I am not a police officer)

WE NEED A NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY IN SCHENECTADY COUNTY.  ANY TAKERS?

BigK,

You know that I'm with you as are many with whom I have spoken while trying to get out the write-in vote for Lazzari and Santabarbara for the the Conservative Party endorsement for Schenectady County Legislature.  The public is not as naive as the party leaders would like to think.  We need a party of individuals who have a conservative ideology, not those with a special interest regarding a single issue that is self-serving.

Z2

Quoted from z2im

BigK,

You know that I'm with you as are many with whom I have spoken while trying to get out the write-in vote for Lazzari and Santabarbara for the the Conservative Party endorsement for Schenectady County Legislature.  The public is not as naive as the party leaders would like to think.  We need a party of individuals who have a conservative ideology, not those with a special interest regarding a single issue that is self-serving.

Z2

AMEN.....

It would be great if you can make it happen.

The only way to stop this 'new disfunctional conservative idiology' is to NOT VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATES THEY ENDORSE! Sorry folks, but that's the only way to let them know 'we mean business'! We need to get the word out and make our voices heard in the voting booth!!!

I agree Bumble.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

Past has caught up to present with Rotterdam taxes

   As they say, the chickens have come home to roost. Former Democrat Supervisor John Paolino’s reassessment plan for Rotterdam is now complete. He, along with Bill Cooke, the current Democrat candidate for supervisor, and every Democrat candidate in the town of Rotterdam since 2001, pushed the issue in campaign literature, and finally succeeded in 2004.
   While taxpayers were no doubt relieved that a Republican majority opposed to re-evaluation took power in 2005, the process voted in 2004 had already been adopted, and took three years to complete; at a cost of nearly $1 million The Democrats won on the re-evaluation issue by duping the voters, but the Rotterdam homeowners now know that they have lost.
   The Republican Party repeatedly warned the voters that the re-evaluation would lead to higher taxes. Sadly, had Joe Signore been elected supervisor in 2003 rather than Democrat John Paolino, we would not be where we are today. But the voters believed what the Democrats told them. Bill Cooke, then the Democratic chairman, accused the Republican Party of using “scare tactics.” He told us that our seniors should not worry; that the re-evaluation would cost on average only $1.75 per thousand of assessed value; that only one-third would go up — all false, as we now know. The Cooke-Paolino re-evaluation plan saw many homeowners going up over 50 percent in school taxes alone. The facts are in — it has devastated many.
   Supervisor Steve Tommasone has inherited a mess left by the former Democrat administration. However, we can thank him for doing everything in his power to alleviate the harsh effects of a re-evaluation he never supported. He had the foresight to adopt for every homeowner a homestead exemption on the town tax portion of the tax bill. Mike Della Villa, as president of the Schalmont School Board, demonstrated similar leadership in adopting the homestead exemption for the Schalmont school tax. Incredibly, the Mohonasen School Board did not follow Supervisor Tommasone’s leadership and did not adopt the homestead exemption. As a result, Mohonasen homeowners saw even more dramatic increases in their school tax bills.
   Outraged? The answer is to send a message this November. No more lies, no more distortions. Let Bill Cooke and his Democrat ticket know that the re-evaluation was a mistake. And next spring, consider running for the Mohonasen School Board. When you win, follow Supervisor Tommasone’s leadership, and push to implement a homestead exemption for the Mohonasen school tax.
THOMAS D BUCHANAN
Rotterdam
The writer is Schenectady County Republican Chairman and former Rotterdam town chairman.

  
  
  

Finally, Buchanan gets something right.

Stop blowing the smoke up my a#@ Mr. Buchanan...first of all it needed to get done, that's what the fact is....it should be told as such to the residents....no pandering, no blaming, no burden shifting,,,,,,just---take your medicine, this is what needs to be done......

This is just another 'education' for the complainers......NOT---just more politics.........

as for DEMS, REPS, CONSERVES ya'll better remember what you see in the mirror.......

Town taxes are not school taxes.....I dont remember a conversation about the school tax levy....everyone kept talking about the TOWN TAXES.....you know paving, sewers, lights and other services......when us folks were all talking about our tax bills it was for the taxes the town/county/fire take....not the school tax levy....am I missing something here......

the school tax is for the school board to handle following STATE mandates, UNION mandates and the damn NYS LOTTERY and the STAR(STATE TAXES APPLIED RECTALLY)......SHOW ME THE $$ TRAIL........

Senders I agree that the reval had to be done but it was how the tax rate was applied to both the school and property taxes that are in question. There's a big difference between the tax rate that was proposed to the tax rate that was actually applied. Wait until January and we'll see what we're going to pay in property tax and that's all town taxes.

The result of the reval should have been that the tax BASE of the municipality increased assuming that the property values have increased since the last assessment was done.  If the tax REVENUE is held steady and the tax BASE is increased, the tax RATE must (logically) decrease.  The reval would thus have resulted in some having a higher assessment and a higher tax bill and some having a lower assessment and a lower tax bill.  

The state (property) tax law states that all must be treated equitably when it comes to taxation.  That would, for example, protect one person from paying taxes based on 2007 property assessment while another is paying taxes based on an assessment of property value rendered years ago.  The state laws do not, however, mandate when (frequency) revals be performed.  "Spot assessments" whereby an individual property is reassessed for no other reason than, perhaps, the property had recently been sold are illegal.  However, I have heard of this practice being performed by some Tax Assessors.  The home owner is unaware of this forbidden practice and thus the reassessment goes unchallenged.

In their challenge of property value assessments, those who assert that their taxes have increased significantly should consider the assessed value, not the percentage of increase in their taxes as they may have been underpaying their share of the burden of taxes in prior years.  Assessments of comparable properties must be considered.

If tax bills of EVERY citizen in the Town of Rotterdam increased, then I would suggest that the tax REVENUE was NOT held constant.  Does anyone have information pertaining to the tax budget of the town for 2007 versus that of the prior year?  The town budget for the 2008 tax year is, I believe, due by the end of September.  The rate of increase, if there is one, should soon become public knowledge.

While it is true that a reval can obscure a tax increase, it is the responsible action of the town to ensure that all residents are paying their share.  Residents, however, must be vigilant to ensure that a reval is not the vehicle by which the government seizes a greater share of their wealth through taxation.  The cost of the reassessment is itself an expenditure to be paid from tax revenues.

As a resident of the Town of Duanesburg living in a home that was built only two years ago, my assessment and my tax bill is much higher than those of neighbors with older homes that are of approximately equal market value.  This results from the situation that the town has not had a town wide reassessment since the early 1980s.  While I believe that we are ALL overtaxed, particularly when we consider what we are receiving in exchange for the taxes paid, I believe that the tax burden must be shared by all property owners.  The result, otherwise, is that many who pay very little in property taxes have no reservations about approving annual increases in school tax budgets (and approving bonds) because the impact to them is minimal.

In my experience in real estate sales, I can recall numerous instances in which my clients opted to purchase a home in Saratoga County or Albany County rather than in Schenectady County solely because of the high taxes in Schenectady County.  Occasionally, these homes are located only a mile or so apart.  Until we, the residents of Schenectady County, force our elected local governments and school district boards to restrain spending, we will continue to be among the highest tax residents in the nation.

I have not talked to one person who has said that their taxes have gone down. Talk to the residents in Rotterdam as see if you can find someone whose taxes went down and let us all know.