Authorizes the village of Bronxville to seek judicial review of a small claims assessment review in certain circumstances and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

BILL NUMBER:S5076A

Title of bill

An act authorizing the village of Bronxville to seek judicial review of a small claims assessment review in certain circumstances; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

Purpose

To establish a demonstration program to allow the Village of Bronxville to have the right to judicial review of small claims assessment review proceedings via the Article 78 appeals process.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Enacts, into the unconsolidated law, a provision permitting the village of Bronxville in the county of Westchester to seek judicial review pursuant to article seventy-eight of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of a small claims assessment review decision made pursuant to Title 1-A of Article Seven of the Real Property Tax Law. The Village of Bronxville may request such review only when the village has conducted a revaluation of all real property within the last four years, when the equalized value of the property's challenged assessment is at least four hundred fifty thousand dollars, and when the reduction sought is equal or greater than fifteen percent of the challenged assessment. This demonstration program would sunset on January 1, 2016 so that the State Legislature can evaluate the need for such authority to be vested in the Village of Bronxville, and perhaps extended to other municipalities in New York.

Section 2: This act shall become effective immediately and can apply to small claims assessment review decisions on or after January I, 2012 and shall expire on January 1, 2016.

Justification

Utilizing the small claims assessment review (commonly known as SCAR) process, individual property owners can ask that the value of their assigned assessed value of their property be reviewed in court. When dissatisfied with the finding of the lower court, the property owner is afforded the right to appeal such real property tax assessment decision. However, when the SCAR proceeding is decided in favor of the property owner, the local municipality has no right to appeal such decision. This lack of ability to appeal to a higher court precludes a municipality to raise very legitimate questions on how the lower court reviewed such assessment or the criteria used.

When the locality believes that a determination made in favor of the property owner is based on faulty logic or reasoning, they have no legal recourse to either challenge that decision or ensure that the

same reasoning will not continue to be used in subsequent SCAR decisions. This bill provides the village of Bronxville, which has recently conducted a reassessment of property values, the right to the same appeal process that an individual has.

In addition to the limitations set forth in section 7803 in the Civil Practice Law and Rules, the bill provides clarification as to the circumstances under which the Village of Bronxville may file an appeal. These circumstances are: a reassessment of the property value must have been completed within the last four years, the equalized value of the property's challenged assessment is more than four hundred fifty thousand dollars, and the requested reduction is equal to or greater than fifteen percent of the challenged assessment. These limitations ensure that individual property owners in the village of Bronxville will not be subject to excessive appeals.

This bill was requested by the Village of Bronxville.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

No fiscal impact to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take affect immediately and shall apply to small claims assessment review decisions filed on or after January 1, 2012 and shall be deem repealed January 1, 2016.