City Manager Jason Molino got a warm reception Monday from the board of Batavia city schools when he pitched the idea of extending a pair of tax exemptions for property owners who make improvements.
The city council has already passed the exemptions and now Molino is trying to get both the school board and the county legislature to follow suit.
Getting the exemptions extended to the other agencies would "help us do a better job of marketing the exemptions," Molino said. "It would make it a much more attractive incentive."
One exemption applies to commercial or residential property owners and has been on the books in Batavia for some time. It would provide a tax abatement on the increased assessment that might result from restoration or significant improvements to a property.
Putting on a new roof, for example, wouldn't qualify, but if a property owner who resided there, installed a new roof, put in new windows and made other repairs to a rundown property, it could qualify for tax abatement.
An addition to a property that drives up the assessed value would also qualify.
The second exemption applies to owners of commercial property who convert the property to mixed use and include residential.
For example, a three-story downtown building that remained retail on the first floor but was converted to residential on the second and third floors would qualify.
The exemptions work like a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) in commercial development where the property owner continues paying taxes at the same rate on the original assessed value of the property, bu gets a graduated break on the taxes related to the increase in assessed value over a period of years.
The program, according to Molino, is designed to foster improvements to local property and drive the city's strategic goal of bringing more residents into Downtown Batavia.
No board members spoke against supporting the proposal.
The district's attorney will need to draft resolutions in order for the school district to adopt the exemptions.
"Anything we can do to strengthen the housing stock in the City of Batavia, we should absolutely be doing," Trustee Steve Mountain said.
A new roof wouldn't qualify.
A new roof wouldn't qualify. It would have to be a new roof, windows, plus.... So am I to assume there would be a set dollar amount needed to qualify? If not, then, what would be the criteria?
Something to look into,
Something to look into, wonder if all the improvements have to have happened in the same decade? For the past 8 years I've installed two replacement windows every year and this is the year of the roof.
Maybe I can get a tax abatement because I'm surrounded by foreclosures ?
If the tax rates weren't so
If the tax rates weren't so high to begin with you wouldn't need programs like this...Is there a real shortage of apts.in the city of Batavia...Why not put a freeze on all property in Batavia....
"Anything we can do to strengthen the housing stock in the City of Batavia, we should absolutely be doing," Trustee Steve Mountain said.
Is the housing stock weak......I see alot of houses for sale and alot of apt.for rent..I say housing stock is strong......This program is not needed......
Putting on a new roof, for example, wouldn't qualify, but if a property owner who resided there, installed a new roof, put in new windows and made other repairs to a rundown property, it could qualify for tax abatement....So should we all let our properties get run down so we can lower our assessments...Then rebuilt the outside and keep our lower assessment......What qualify for a rundown property.....
This rule should apply to all city properties not just properties that are run down ....Its all these exemptions that cause a high tax rates.....All properties should be treated the same...You pay taxes on what its worth...
I like the idea. The City has
I like the idea. The City has already passed this and it would be nice if the BOE did the same, along with the county. This stops penalizing someone who tries to improve their property and does not cost the taxpayers anything.
Batavia, home of low income
Batavia, home of low income people for the most part is incentivising letting your roof turn to rubble while you save more so you can do windows too just to avoid the tax man.
That is just bad policy.
I will make the repairs I need when I can. When I finish them all even though they are spaced out can I get my assessment knocked back down to where it was when I started?
Peter, This is not about
Peter,
This is not about "repairs", it is about improvements that might raise your assesment and gives you a break for doing it.
Fixing a leaky roof does not raise your assesment. Siding your house might, and you get a break.
What is "bad" about it?
Mark, how many times have you
Mark, how many times have you complained that people won't improve their properties for fear of an increase in assessment. Now here's a solution to that issue and you're bitchin' about it, too.
No pleasing some people, I guess.
Howard this is about tax
Howard this is about tax exemptions and treating all properties the same.....I don't believe in any exemptions...They give them out for all types of reasons..Business ,non profits,elderly, veterans and now on home improvements..Is there a shortage of apartments in Batavia..Do we need to give out tax breaks for creating more apartments.............I don't think so......Our tax rates are too high.......And this is how they are addressing them ...Giving breaks to some but not to all..Its not bitchin ...Its call an opinion....Who gives out these so call exemptions....Is it one person.... How are they expanding the tax base if they are giving out tax exemptions ..Property tax is the way to finance schools and local government....They are not treating all property owners the same in the way they tax...This is wrong............We all need a break from rising property taxes ..Just ask those who assessments have gone up over and over again in this city........Not just a few,,........Now how do you fight and increase in a property assessment when you wont be able to compare it to your neighbor who does 20,000 dollars worth of home imporvements raising his whole sale price of his property ....This can have the effect of raising your property assessment causing you to pay more..............Treat all the same.................
Howard - your comment, "No
Howard - your comment, "No pleasing some people, I guess", is dead on and thank you for saying it. I sat on the school board for 5 and 1/2 years and was called out on this web site and got several "nasty grams" to my school email address. I always promised myself I would not cyber-argue any points with anybody. I prefer to hash things out face to face. Anyway, my standard response to people that complained was to come to a BOE meeting and discuss. You know what? They NEVER showed up. I can count on 1 hand how many people actually took the time to come and discuss.
Back away from your computers people and go get involved.....
Mr. Pedro, people don't have
Mr. Pedro, people don't have to go to the meetings in order to have an opinion. Elected officials who make arguments like yours are the reason nobody likes elected officials in the first place.
Sorry - let me rephrase it.
Sorry - let me rephrase it. It is my firm belief that people will put in writing what they don't have the gnads to say to someone's face. And no, people dont' have to go to meetings to have an opinion. They point that I was trying to make was that it seems to be the same people bitching about the state of our local government, but that's all they do is bitch. It gets old.....
This is why I don't like to cyber-debate. Face to Face is still the way to go....
You're still making the same
You're still making the same argument, except now you're calling the people who don't want to go to public meetings sissies. You're right, maybe you should stay far away from internet debates, you're not very good at them.
You can have opinions and
You can have opinions and this is a great site to express them. But on some issues like this, unless you get off your rear end and do something, this is about as far as you get, cyber debate. Fun, informative at times, but it does not accomplish much in the long run.
Mr.Pedro i have the gnads as
Mr.Pedro i have the gnads as you call it to say what i believe to anyones face......And i have..Just because i don't believe taxing one property owner one way, one property owner another way isn't bicthin ..Its an opinion...With the way the school district is in need of more funding i would think the last thing they would want to do is ok tax abatements on property.....Every property tax payer should be treated equally...We are spose to pay property tax on what our property is worth...That what full assessment is spose to mean....Maybe if the tax rates weren't so high these special rules on how to tax a piece of property wouldn't be needed......John what should a tax payer do to get fairness on how to tax property....I'm sure you saw the video Howard posted on what Batavia use to look like... Did the city have to go around giving out tax breaks to create what you saw in that video.......How's that for bicthin....
Another point to consider.
Another point to consider. People can have a discussion face to face and then many times it's just forgotten and they move on to another subject. Also a person can say, Oh I never said that, or you misunderstood what I meant. When you post an opinion or a response on the internet or send an e-mail, it endures. For some it comes back to haunt them later, especially public figures, which is the real reason few will ever engage on this type of site. So it might actually take bigger gnads to cyber-debate. Especially when using your actual name.
vacant landloards , HUD
vacant landloards , HUD saturated neighborhoods , are ruining Batavia to the point of no return . Now these people who own the houses that are tearing this community apart will get tax breaks to improve what they shouls have already done . nothing for the homeowner with the single family home that keeps this city going , who pay taxes , shop local and work a job for money . This is a community of handouts and that is what drives the Rochester and Buffalo scum to migrate here . Enough already .
Great points Tom and Dave....
Great points Tom and Dave.... Howard and Mr.Pedro call that bitctin..........
Tom, there's nothing about
Tom, there's nothing about this that targets landlords. In fact, this is one component of trying to get property owners to convert two and three unit dwellings back into single-family homes.
The single family home owner under this -- perfectly maintained, beautiful home, etc. etc., if he wanted to do a room addition, he would be able to do so without worrying about an increased assessment until some years down the road.
Yeah, Mark, here's a program that costs taxpayers nothing, offers a chance for neighborhood improvement, and has absolutely zero downside for you or anybody else, and you're complaining about it. What would you call such unfounded negativism?
Howard, This shows that most
Howard,
This shows that most don't even know what is in the proposal, but they are willing to say its no good.
Really Howard or is it
Really Howard or is it Mr.Libertarian..it cost us nothing....It cost because they will not be increasing the assessment on what the property is worth...This is also about creating apt.in the downtown area..Increasing the property value but not having them pay the increased assessment....
The federal,state allready allow them to write off the expenses ..They are also allowed to deprecate the value of that property..And now we need to give them a break on property tax...Is there a shortage of apts......Lets say the owner of Save A Lot adds apts to that building and increase the value by 300,000 dollars ..That is revenue loss in assessment to the city..So it does cost taxpayers in the long run..........The only way to lower taxes for all is to expand the tax base..This shrinks it...and allows it not to grow..Its not unfounded negativism...I though you called it bitchin.....Why raise any assessments...Be fair to all....My assessment has been increased over the years for improvements i have done...Do i get a break......Who gives out these so call property tax abatement's.....is it even on the books as a law......Treat all property the same and assess the fair value worth on all....There should be no special treatment for any one....
Mark, This also gives people
Mark,
This also gives people who have rental property that are now two or three rental units make back into a one family home. The owner gets a sliding break that ends after a few years. That break is what they might need to get the money for the project. Better to give a short term, temporary, break that will result in a higher assesment helping us all than letting the property deteriorate, decrease in assessment, and you have to pick up the difference. And they still pay full taxes on the original assessment.
As for not getting a break when we did things to our property, sucks to be us. This was not on the books back then and while this idea has been floating around for years, nobody was pushing for it then either.
And, yes, it is on the books for the City. The above article relates to the school district, which will also help some people in the Town of Batavia and Stafford.