About Us
The Assessor is the official who estimates the value of real property within the Town's boundaries. This value is converted into an assessment, which is one component in the computation of real property tax bills.
The Assessor's Office is responsible for the annual preparation of the assessment roll upon which the various tax levies (Town, County and School) are based. The Office records and monitors all property sales, processes all subdivisions and mergers and maintains the official Town tax maps. It coordinates the Board of Assessment Review Grievance Day proceedings, audits complaints and offers testimony. The Assessor is also responsible for the annual completion and filing of State and County mandated reports. Additionally, all tax certiorari proceedings including small claims are handled by the department. The Office also acts as an information center answering inquiries from attorneys, realtors, title companies and the general public.
The Assessor's Office reviews and, when appropriate, challenges State issued equalization rates. The equalization rate purports to measure the level of assessment to market value of real property within a given community and is calculated using a statistical formula.
The equalization rate has many purposes, but primarily it drives the Town share of the county tax, the share of the school tax levied upon town property owners within multiple school districts, and the amount of the state aid distribution.
Important Assessment Dates:
Taxable Status Date May 1st
Tentative Completion of Roll June 1st
Grievance Day 3rd Tuesday of June
Final Filing of Roll September 15th
Taxable Status Date: The particular date on which the taxable status of real property must be determined according to its condition and ownership. An improvement added after taxable status date is not assessable until the following year; one added before is subject to current year assessment.
Tentative Assessment Roll: The assessor completes, certifies, and files a roll containing proposed assessed values for each property in the assessing unit.
Grievance Day: The Board of Assessment Review meets to hear assessment complaints. This is the last day property owners may file a formal complaint seeking a reduction in their tentative assessments.
Assessment complaint forms are available in the Assessor's Office and on the website. Please note that the assessment represents the property's value as of July 1st of the prior year. Therefore, estimate of value should reflect that date.
Final Assessment Roll: The assessor signs and files a roll that contains the final assessments, including all changes.
Change of Address
To ensure that our assessment records reflect the most current mailing address and to ensure that our tax bills are sent to the correct address, notify this office of any change of address.
Requests for mailing address changes must be made in writing to the Assessor's Office. Ownership changes can only be made by submitting a copy of a deed, a copy of a New York State form RP 5217 or a copy of a death certificate. While copies of deed transactions are eventually provided to the Assessor by the Land Records Division of the Westchester County Clerk's Office, there can a delay before their receipt. Late payment of taxes caused by discrepancies in addresses and ownership data accrue penalties which are the sole responsibility of the taxpayer.
All new homeowners are urged to visit the Assessor's Office after the purchase of a property or title transfer to make very important ownership record changes.
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 on it. Some examples of real property are houses, gas stations, office buildings, vacant land, shopping centers, condominiums, and restaurants.
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 during business hours at the Assessor's Office, 179 Westchester Ave, Pound Ridge, NY. Assessment rolls are also posted on the Town website.
It is up to individual property owners to monitor their own assessments. Taxpayers who feel they are not being fairly assessed should meet with the assessor before the tentative assessment roll is established. The assessor can be contacted at 764-3980 or by e-mail at dbriganti@townofpoundridge.com. The assessor will explain how the assessment was determined and the rationale that led to the determination.
The assessor is interested in fairly assessing properties within her assessing unit. If your assessment is correct and your tax bill still seems too high, the assessor cannot change that. All complaints to the assessor must deal only with the assessment of the property.
Informal meetings with the assessor to resolve assessment questions about the next assessment roll can take place throughout the year. Upon speaking with the assessor, if 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.
Exemptions
There are a variety of real property tax exemptions administered through this office for which you may be eligible to apply. The list of exemptions currently available for owner occupied primary residences in the Town of Pound Ridge can be found in the Forms, Permits & Applications section above.
THE LAST DAY TO FILE FOR AN EXEMPTION IS BY MAY 1ST OF EACH YEAR.
