City property revaluation plans nixed

Property owners wary of the effects of a citywide revaluation on their assessments need not worry. Citing instability in both the commercial and residential markets, the city's Assessment Department will not revalue the city in the upcoming year as planned.

Instead, the department will inspect 46 percent of the residential properties in Watertown that were trended during the 2006-07 fiscal year, and properties with significant changes then will be revalued, Assessor Brian S. Phelps said.

"Unless there are real physical changes, then we're not looking to change their assessments," he said. "We're talking about things like new garages, siding, roofs — the types of things that haven't been accounted for."

The neighborhoods to be reviewed this year include nearly all of the residential properties south of the Black River. Commercial properties will not be adjusted unless previously undocumented physical changes are noticed.

"I'm sure there will be some complaining," Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said. "We'll see how it goes. You have to try to take a stab at keeping things as equal as possible."

The city had planned to perform a citywide revaluation this year because inequities in the true market value had developed between commercial and residential properties. The new assessments would have been implemented on the spring 2011 tax rolls.

In 2007, the City Council opted out of a state-backed annual assessment program because of complaints from residents that the values of their properties continued to climb. Since then, the Assessment Department has not trended or revalued properties en masse.

"While there is always room for improvement in equity, the current level of uniformity does not justify the expense and time required for a complete city-wide revaluation," Mr. Phelps wrote in a memo to the council.

The 2010 tax roll is expected to increase from 92.5 percent of true market value to 95 percent, he said.

"It is hard to predict where home values will be on our valuation date (July 1), but the last seven months have been flat," Mr. Phelps said. "There is additional concern that once the federal home buyer's tax credit expires, we may see another downturn in prices."

The Worker, Home Ownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 offers a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers and up to $6,500 for qualified repeat home buyers. It expires April 30.

The disparity between the true market value of residential properties versus commercial properties also is shrinking.

"Because of the slight decrease in the values of residential properties, that gap is closing," Mr. Phelps said. "That's one of the reasons I don't think it's imperative to do the reval."

If the city had performed a citywide revaluation, it would receive less financial help from Albany. The state historically has aided municipalities performing revaluations, at least $5 per parcel, or about $43,000 for the city. Funding has been reduced to about $3 per parcel, or a $17,200 reduction in aid, Mr. Phelps said.

Performing a citywide revaluation would cost taxpayers about $5,000 for overtime, $6,000 for travel, postage and other materials and an undetermined amount for legal expenses associated with property owners who challenge their assessments, City Manager Mary M. Corriveau said.

"What we're proposing here, we don't think will have as large of an impact," she said.

"Whenever you change an assessment, it stirs the pot," Mr. Phelps said. "Even when you lower it sometimes, it tends to generate participation from the public."