Southampton Town Cancels In-Person Grievance Day In Light Of Coronavirus Epidemic

Southampton Town residents hoping to dispute the assessed value of their homes to lower their property tax bills will have to do so remotely this year.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic and required social distancing protocols, town officials decided to cancel the annual in-person grievance day, at which property owners meet with members of the town’s Assessment Review Board to challenge the value assigned to their homes. Instead, homeowners are encouraged to file grievances online, by mail or by telephone.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he doesn’t envision any issues with the remote filings, noting that the town has accepted electronic filings previously.

“We’ve done online grievances for years,” he said. “We’ve been helping the other towns to do the same. There’s no real difference between someone doing it online and in person.”

In East Hampton Town, a grievance day is still being planned, but officials are looking at the possibility of also doing it remotely — or through e-filing, like in neighboring Southampton Town.

“It’s a work in progress,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyac said.

Mr. Van Scoyac noted that a request was made to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office to extend the state’s assessor’s calendar by a month, given the current crisis. While Mr. Cuomo has not signed an executive order to that effect, Mr. Van Scoyac said the town was moving forward with a revised calendar.

Officials expect to file the tentative assessment roll on June 1, not May 1. The grievance period would be between June 1 and 16, not May 1 to 19. And a final roll would be filed on August 1, not July 1.

“We are noticing the roll on May 1 and grievance on June 16,” he said. “So we will be in compliance and meet notice deadline.”

In Southampton, the original calendar is being adhered to, according to Sole Assessor Lisa R. Goree, but the time period to file grievances is extended. The official grievance period is from May 1 to 19, but they will be accepted through July 1.

She said he decided to stick to the original schedule after failing to hear back from the governor’s office on an official extension.

“Nothing’s come down the pike on that yet,” she said, noting that the town typically starts receiving grievances in mid-April, and because the town had already had electronic filing processes in place, she saw no need to delay the schedule.

However, extending the final deadline to July 1 “gives everyone a little cushion,” she said.

All grievances will then be reviewed by the Board of Assessment Review. Determination notices will be mailed or digitally transmitted between July 1 and 15.

Grievances can be filed electronically beginning May 1 at www.southamptontownny.gov/130/Assessors-Office. Officials are urging homeowners to file their grievances by May 19, although the pandemic means the actual deadline will be July 1.

Grievances can also be dropped off at Town Hall on Hampton Road Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by mail.

All grievances must be accompanied by official grievance forms, which are available online or in the lobby at Town Hall.

Mr. Schneiderman speculated that due to a property assessment freeze he put into place last year, and which took effect this year — under which the town’s policy of annually adjusting property values in response to market trends was suspend for two years — there wouldn’t be a large number of grievances this year, anyway.

Ms. Goree agreed, although she noted that her office has received a handful of calls from property owners concerned that the pandemic might affect their property value, and thus their tax bills. But she noted that even if that were the case, it would have no effect on the 2020 assessment.

The only changes to assessed values, he said, would be in cases of new construction or if the town discovered that improvements had been made to a property.

Last May, the Town Board unanimously approved the freeze in order to allow the town time to review and potentially amend the town’s reassessment policy, which had come under fire by town residents facing steep tax hikes when comparable homes in their neighborhoods sold for high prices.

Southampton is one of only two towns on Long Island to assess properties on “100 percent full valuation.”

Every four years, the town conducts a full reassessment of the 52 neighborhoods in the town to make sure properties are assessed at their true market value. At the same time, assessments increase annually based on market trends. The goal is to have homeowners face smaller increases every year rather than one steep increase every four years.

East Hampton Town does not perform townwide reassessments, and traditionally has a much lower turnout of homeowners grieving their assessments, which can remain steady for years.

Grievance day is set aside each year, after homeowners are notified of their property’s assessed valuation, to dispute the value assigned by the town, in an effort to have it reduced, and, in turn, lower their property tax bill.

But it’s not just a matter of complaining that their taxes are too high. They must prove that their assessments are higher than others with similar properties.

Changes in assessments resulting from grievance determinations do not reduce the overall amount collected by a municipality in property taxes. The total tax levy collected remains the same, but what changes is how big of a share each property owner must pay to meet that total.

Last year, 663 property owners in Southampton Town filed grievances. Of those, 244 people did so in person at St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton Bays, 40 filed at Town Hall, and 379 filed grievances online.

Mr. Schneiderman noted this week that only a small number of grievances are actually adjusted on the in-person grievance day, and that most people “go on to the next step” and file suit to have their assessment and property taxes lowered.

Ms. Goree urged anyone with any questions to reach out to her office at 631-283-6020. Staff members are each working every other day to meet distancing guidelines, but are there to help, she said.

“We’re trying to make it as convenient to the public as possible,” she said.