May 9, 2015
City, towns continue assessor transition
Since the retirement of David Briggs, formerly the assessor for the city and the towns of Virgil and Homer, the three municipalities have been adjusting to the change and have taken steps to continue sharing services.
A search committee comprised of members of each municipality began working on finding Briggs’ replacement in November.
In February, past county Director of Real Property Tax Services Randy Deal became assessor for Cortland, Virgil and Homer, leaving his county post.
City Director of Administration and Finance Mack Cook said Thursday in the short time since Deal was appointed, he has managed to help the city stay organized through the transition.
“We’ve been up and functioning now for a while,” Cook said. “We shook hands ... and now the formal agreements are being put into place.”
Cook called the current arrangement between Deal and the municipalities, “a gentleman’s agreement.” An official contract will come before the city Common Council for a vote during its regular meeting scheduled for June 18.
The Homer Town Board signed off on its assessor contract during its regular meeting on Wednesday and the town of Virgil is expected to approve the agreement during its regular board meeting May 15.
Cook also noted that the city will be saving around $30,000 a year by continuing to use a single assessor who shares services with three municipalities.
The city’s 2015 budget had costs of hiring a single assessor for itself at just over $90,000.
Deal will be conducting his business out of the Homer Town Hall, which Homer Town Supervisor Fred Forbes said should prove to be a benefit for residents.
Forbes also noted the town has been able to come to an agreement with Larry Fitts, assessor for the towns of Solon and Harford. Fitts and two of his assistants will offer support for Deal during daily operations.
The additional space in the Town Hall for the assistants will be rented at a cost of $1,000 annually.
But the change has not come without its difficulties. Forbes said because it took a while for a new assessor to be appointed to the town, both Homer and Virgil were late in submitting their 2015 tax information with the state.
“Tax rolls had to be filed by May 1,” Forbes said. “(Tax) exemptions are supposed to have been in place. We got behind on that because of not having an assessor for all of January and three weeks in February.”
Deal could not be reached for comment and Forbes noted during Wednesday’s Town Board meeting that he is unavailable due to illness. But Forbes said that information has been filed with the state.
The search for a new assessor did not have an effect on Cortland because it is a city and its tax information does not have to be submitted until August, Cook said.
Virgil Town Supervisor John Kaminsi and Town Councilman Dale Taylor, who represents the town on the assessor committee, could not be reached for comment.
Forbes said despite a few setbacks, he has enjoyed working with the the committee and he is generally pleased with how the transition is going.
“Politics have been completely left aside,” Forbes said. “We’ve worked through a few issues and problems but when it’s all done, we’ll be the stronger for it.”
“There’s been a few bumps and bruises along the way, but it’s coming together,” Cook said. “We’re trying to reduce our costs of government and that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”
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