Written by Staff

Jan. 14, 2015: The new year means it's time for village residents who want to reduce their property assessments to gather facts, prepare their cases, and begin the process.

Grievance Day, the day set once a year to hear property assessment appeals, will be Tuesday, February 17, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm in Bronxville Village Hall. Contact the village assessor, Jerry Iagallo, at 914-337-6500 for specific instructions on how to present grievances. Notification of an intent to grieve must be registered with village hall by Tuesday, February 17, the same day the Grievance Committee meets to hear appeals.

Owners of single-family homes and business properties, as well as co-op boards, who want tto address the fairness of their property tax assessments should schedule a meeting with the village tax assessor before February 1, when the village publishes its tentative tax assesment roll. Residents can consult the tax assessor's page on the village website for current assessments.

Property tax bills are driven by two factors: the property's assessed value and the village tax rate for any given year. The village tax rate is out of the hands of taxpayers. It is based on the size of the village budget approved by the Bronxville Board of Trustees for that year. The rate is a function of the amount of money needed to be raised (given the current tax assessments) to match the size of the approved village budget.

But the assessed value of a given piece of property is not entirely out of the taxpayer's hands. Single-family homes in Bronxville are to be taxed at "fair market value." If the taxpayer can prove that recent sale prices of other comparable homes in his or her neighborhood have decreased substantially, a case can be made that his or her house is assessed at a value that is too high.

When coming before the grievance committee, property owners should be prepared to supply data on the recent sales of homes in their neighborhood. Jerry Iagallo can be helpful.

Members of the assessment review board are Robert Shearer, chairman, Lisa Connors, Christina Eldridge, John Hill, and Eugene Piper.

Photo by A. Warner