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The Assessment Department is responsible for appraising all commercial,
industrial, agricultural, residential and vacant parcel properties
within the Town of Clay. We also administer all exemptions, review
and analyze sales data, manage the equalization rate, defend the
Town in all assessment related court cases, and disseminate all
assessment related information to the general public.
The Assessor is
available by appointment throughout the year to discuss assessment or
other real property tax related concerns.
We recognize the issue of property tax and its congruence with
assessments is a complicated and emotional issue. The department has an open
door policy and encourages taxpayers with questions to contact us.
The Assessor is also
available to speak to groups of citizens in regard to exemptions,
assessments and other assessment related topics upon request.
The assessed value of a
property is most easily understood when the assessment is equal to the
market value (100%) The Town of Clay assesses properties at a partial
equalization rate of 4.36%.
This means that our
Level of Assessment (LOA) and equalization rate are 4.36% of full value.
To arrive at the market value of your specific property, divide your
assessment by .0436. An example would be an assessment of $10,000,
divided by the .0436 will provide a market value of $229,358.
The LOA/equalization
rate changes every year depending on the fluctuations in the real estate
market and is meant to reflect the changes seen therein. The actual
number is arrived at through review of market data by both New York
State and the Town of Clay Assessor. When the rate drops, market
value goes up. When the rate goes up, market values are dropping.
The equalization rate for 2008 is .9% lower than in 2007, which results
in a full market value increase of 2.1%
This increase is well below the county average
of 4.8%.
The Town of Clay is the 17th largest town
(out of close to 1,100 cities, towns and villages) in New York
State. Due to the large volume of exemptions received and reviewed, (21,433 in
2007), we will adhere to the State
deadline of March 1st for the application of ALL EXEMPTIONS.
All forms must be filed by March 1st of every given year.
Key Dates that affect the assessment process:
| March
1: |
Taxable Status Date |
| March
1: |
Exemption Filing Deadline |
| May
1: |
Tentative Roll Filed |
|
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Grievance Day 4th Tuesday in May |
| July
1: |
Final Roll Filed |
Normal office hours are from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Monday thru Friday. Phone 652-3800
The Tentative Assessment roll is filed on May 1st and may be inspected
during regular office hours. Grievance Day is May 27th, 2008, the fourth Tuesday
of May from
5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Assessor will be in attendance with the
roll beyond regular business hours, 8:30 A.M., to 4:30 P.M., at
the following days and time:
Monday May
5th Clay Town Hall 4:00
P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Saturday May 10th Clay
Town Hall 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Wednesday May
14th Clay Town Hall 10:00 A.M. to 2:00
P.M.
Monday May
19th Clay Town Hall 4:00 P.M.
to 8:00 P.M.
If
you have decided to file for an assessment reduction, you should mail or
deliver the complaint form to your local assessing unit so that it arrives
on or before Grievance Day. If you mail the form, even if
it is postmarked on or before Grievance Day, it is deemed to be late if
it does arrive by Grievance Day. Ideally, the form should
arrive at least four business days before Grievance Day.
Otherwise, the assessor can obtain an adjournment to have time to
prepare a response to your complaint. For an online resource regarding the assessment process Click Here.
For a list of frequently asked questions Click
Here.
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