All real property in the Town of Riverhead is to be taxed, unless specifically exempted by New York State Law.
So, what is real property? According to state law, real property is land itself, above and under water, including mines, minerals, quarries and fossils in and under same, buildings and other structures, substructures and superstructures erected upon, under or above the land, or affixed thereto, including bridges, wharves, piers, railroads, mains, pipes, tanks for the purpose of conducting steam, heat, water, oil, electricity, boilers, ventilating apparatus, elevators, plumbing, heating, lighting and power generating apparatus… for the distribution of heat, light, power, gases and liquids, and, when owned by a telephone company, all telephone and telegraph lines, wires, poles, supports and inclosures [sic] for electrical conductors upon, above, and underground, manufactured housing, special franchises, and when owned by other than a telephone company, all lines, wires, poles, supports and inclosures [sic] for electrical conductors upon, above, and underground used in connection with the transmission or switching of electromagnetic voice, video, and data signals between different entities separated by air, street or other public domain, and spent fuel pools and dry cask storage systems in which nuclear fuel is stored and is pending further or final disposal from a nuclear power station following the permanent cessation of power operation.
Whew, that’s a lot of real property.
You might ask, what is the approximate value of all of the real property in the town? Currently, the town’s approximate market value is over $14 billion. Yes, that’s a “B”. Billion. However, not all of that is taxable.
New York State is famous, (or infamous) for its plethora of exemptions to taxation. As properties become exempt, what remains is taxable value, subject to the raising of taxes to support tax levies.
A tax levy is the amount to be raised through property taxes. For example, a school district has a budget that is approved by voters. After subtracting state aid, PILOT payments, fund balance, and other revenues, the remaining figure is the amount to be raised through the property tax. All four school districts in the Town of Riverhead are shared with one or more towns; therefore, the tax levy needs to be apportioned between or among towns, using that pesky equalization rate (as described in my recent Assessment 101 opinion piece).
Getting back to taxable vs. exempt, approximately 25% of the property values for town purposes are exempt. An Exemption Impact Report is prepared by the Board of Assessors and made a part of town and school budgets as required by law. For three school districts, the percentage of exempt properties ranges from 10% to 27%.
When properties become wholly or partially exempt, taxes are shifted to all other taxable properties. That shift causes tax rates to rise, which in turn, causes taxes to rise.
Examples of exemptions include those for seniors, veterans, disabled, agriculture, non-profits, solar, IDA, clergy, and certain volunteers.
We value our farmers, our seniors, our veterans, and our volunteers, and we show that appreciation by exempting them from certain taxation. But that is not free. It is merely a shift and an assumption of their portion of taxes into our own.
Remember, the assessor does not raise your taxes and your assessment generally does not change from year to year. If your assessment stays constant, but your taxes increase, most likely this is a function of increasing tax levies, tax rates, and the shifting of taxes from one group to another. A review of your tax bill describes the various taxing jurisdictions that make up your tax bill. The town is only one component, yet all jurisdictions appear on one tax bill. And the town takes all of the complaints about taxes.
Piggybacking on my Assessment 101 article, folks complain about taxes to our department by filing grievances. That can be misguided, as the assessor is only responsible for the assessed value of a property, not its market value (driven by that equalization rate), nor its taxes.
While you may be overtaxed, you might not be over-assessed. The key is knowing the difference.
Laverne Tennenberg is chairperson of the Riverhead Town Board of Assessors. She lives in Riverhead.
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