Who is the Assessor?
The assessor is the official who estimates the value of real property within a city, town, or village's boundaries. This value is converted into an assessment, which is one component in the computation of real property tax bills

What Training Does the Assessor Have?
Elected and appointed assessors must obtain basic certification by New York State within three years of taking office. This requires the successful completion of two assessment administration courses, two appraisal courses, and an elective course. The courses are prescribed by the New York State Board of Equalization and Assessment. Assessors in Nassau County, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers are not required to obtain basic certification.

Appointed assessors must complete 24 hours of continuing education every year, and complete two more appraisal or assessment courses within two years of initial certification. Assessors may attain any of three different advanced designations awarded by State Board of Equalization and Assessment: State Certified Assessor-Advanced, State Certified Assessor-Professional, and State Certified Assessor-National Designation.

What Does an Assessor Do?
The assessor maintains the assessment roll, the document that contains every property assessment. To do this, the physical description, or inventory, and value estimate of every parcel of real property in the municipality is kept up-to-date. The property inventory is available for inspection by appointment before the filing of the tentative assessment roll.

The assessment roll shows assessments and appropriate exemptions. Every year the roll, with preliminary, or tentative, assessments, is made available for public inspection. After the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) has acted on assessment complaints and ordered any changes, the tentative assessment roll is made final.

What Kind of Property is Assessed?
All real property, commonly known as real estate, is assessed. Real property is defined as land and any permanent structures attached to it. Some examples of real property are houses, gas stations, office buildings, vacant land, motels, shopping centers, saleable natural resources (oil, gas, timber), farms, apartment buildings, factories, restaurants, and, in most instances, mobile homes.

How is Real Property Assessed?
Before assessing any parcel of property, the assessor estimates its market value. Market value is how much a property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. To estimate market values, the assessor must be familiar with all aspects of the local real estate market. A property's value can be estimated in three different ways. Property is compared to others similar to it that have sold recently, using only sales where the buyer and seller both acted without undue pressure. This method is called the market approach and is normally used to value residential, vacant, and farm properties. Then calculate what it would cost, using today's labor and material prices, to replace the structure with a similar one. If the structure is not new, the assessor determines how much it has depreciated since it was built. The resulting value is added to an estimate of the market value of the land. This method is used to value special purpose and utility properties, and is called the cost approach. Then analyze how much income a property, like an apartment building, a store, or a factory, will produce if rented. Operating expenses, insurance, maintenance costs, financing terms, and how much money owners expect to make on this type of property, are considered. This is the income approach.

Assessors with computer systems available to them can estimate values using these three approaches more efficiently than with paper, pencil, and calculator. Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) techniques are used to analyze sales and estimate values for many properties at once.

Once the assessor estimates the market value of a property, its assessment is calculated. New York State law provides that all property within a municipality be assessed at a uniform percentage of market value. The percentage can be five percent, 20 percent, 50 percent, or any other percentage, up to 100 percent. Everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes as long as every property in a locality is assessed at the same percentage of value. For example, a house with a market value of $100,000, located in a town that assesses at 15 percent of value, would have an assessment of $15,000. The assessment is multiplied by the tax rate for each taxing jurisdiction city, town, village, school district, etc. to determine the tax bills. (For further explanation of this process, see the pamphlet entitled, "How the Property Tax Works," available from your assessor or from the State Board of Equalization and Assessment).

Does the Assessor have to be let into your home?
The New York State Assessors' Association pamphlet, "Understanding Assessments and Property Taxes," states: The Assessor has a right to go to your front door and seek admittance (possibly he or she will only want to inspect the exterior of the house) but must leave the premises if asked to do so. If it is really inconvenient to allow an inspection at that time, tell your visitor just that and try to make an appointment for some other date. However, if you can spare the ten minutes or so that will usually be required, we urge that you allow it to proceed so that the information necessary for equitable assessment can be gathered. The pamphlet cautions property owners not to allow anyone into their homes without proper identification, preferably I.D. cards with photographs signed by an authorized town or city official. "No identification no entry!"

What Else Does an Assessor Do?
There are many other administrative functions performed by the assessor as well. New construction and major improvements to existing structures are inspected in order that the record of each property's physical inventory is current, and the appropriate improvements are assessed. The assessor also approves, and keeps track of, property tax exemptions. Senior citizen, STAR, veterans, agricultural and business exemptions are among the most common.
The assessor reviews every transfer of real property in a municipality. The basic information on the buyer, seller, and sale price is reviewed for accuracy. Unusual conditions that may have affected the transfer, such as a sale between relatives, are also verified. This information is recorded on State Board of Equalization and Assessment form EA-5217 at the real estate closing. Corrections to this form are made by the assessor.

State Board of Equalization and Assessment requires assessors to file an annual report on assessment changes. The Board also periodically appraises selected properties in each municipality for use in developing equalization rates. Assessors review these appraisals and submit evidence to support any disagreements on appraised values or property inventories.

The Real Property System is a computer soft ware package, created and maintained by State Board of Equalization and Assessment, that is designed to help perform assessment administration functions. It is available to assessors who have the necessary computer equipment, and allows them to electronically maintain the assessment roll and assessment-related records. Reports required by the State are systematically created from these records. Corrections to State form EA-5217 can also be sent to State Board of Equalization and Assessment on computer file. The Real Property System also includes computer assisted mass appraisal programs for value estimation and assessment update purposes, that assessors familiar with such techniques can employ.

The assessor, by law, must be present at all public hearings of the Board of Assessment Review (BAR). The BAR may request the assessor to present evidence in support of tentative assessments being grieved by taxpayers. After meeting in private without the assessor, the BAR makes its decisions and orders any appropriate changes to the assessment roll before it becomes final. If assess ment reductions are denied by the BAR, and property owners appeal to Small Claims Assessment Review, the assessor prepares evidence for those hearings.

Where Can I Go With Questions?
The assessor is continually communicating with the public, answering questions, and dealing with concerns raised by taxpayers. Anyone can examine the assessment roll and property records at any time. However, between Taxable Status Day and the filing of the tentative roll, it should be done by appointment.

It is up to individual property owners to monitor their own assessments. Taxpayers who feel they are not being fairly assessed should meet with their assessor before the tentative assessment roll is established. In an informal setting the assessor can explain how the assessment was determined and the rationale behind it.

Assessors are interested only in fairly assessing property in their assessing unit. If your assessment is correct and your tax bill still seems too high, the assessor cannot change that. Complaints to the assessor must be about how property is assessed.

Taxpayers unhappy with growing property tax bills should not be concerned only with assessments. They should also examine the scope of budgets and expenditures of the taxing jurisdictions (counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, etc.) and address those issues in appropriate and available public forums.

Informal meetings with assessors to resolve assess ment questions about the next assessment roll can take place throughout the year. If, after speaking with your assessor, you still feel you are unfairly assessed, ask for the booklet, "How to File a Complaint on Your Assessment." It describes how to prepare and file a complaint with the Board of Assessment Review for an assessment reduction, and indicates the time of year it can be done.