Grand Island board orders review of 38 commercial assessments after residents’ complaints

The Town of Grand Island's board voted unanimously to ask the town assessor to answer a 38-item list of commercial property assessment questions after several residents and board members said the 2025 reassessment included widespread errors.

Residents attending the May meeting said many home and commercial assessments diverged sharply from recent arm''s-length sales. Mike Flanagan, an East River Road resident, told the board he believed the "critically flawed 2025 property reassessment" had left many commercial parcels underassessed while pushing tax burden onto homeowners.

The board's motion, made by Councilman Dan Filmer, asked the assessor to respond item-by-item to a packet of 38 commercial properties submitted to the board. Filmer said the May 1 filing deadline for the tentative roll meant the board could no longer "shelf" the role and urged residents to use grievance day if they wanted formal review of their assessments.

During discussion board members said some corrections already had been made and that the assessor had reviewed several flagged properties. Filmer and others emphasized the need for transparent, documented explanations for each flagged parcel so residents could understand whether errors had been fixed and why some sales did not appear to be reflected in the assessments.

At roll call the motion passed with all present members voting aye: Councilman Kilmer, Councilman Garcia, Councilman DeGatti, Councilman Belida and Supervisor Marston.

Residents reiterated specific examples during public comment, naming parcels and sale prices they said did not match assessments, including multiple recent arm''s-length sales that speakers said were assessed far lower than sale price. Speakers also referenced a $17,000,000 correction sheet they said had been circulated among board members and asked the board to explain remaining discrepancies.

Board members urged residents to attend the formal grievance hearings and noted that some commercial corrections had already been made after board members and residents identified anomalies to the assessor. Council members also said the town levy is set independently of assessed value and reminded residents the town collects the levy regardless of the reassessment outcome.

The board directed staff to return with the assessor's responses to the 38 items so the public and board members could review the explanations and any additional corrections.