County assessor pauses annual reassessments, sets 2026 level of assessment at 95% and outlines Tyler conversion

The county assessor reported staffing and workload pressures and a temporary pause in the annual reassessment program to stabilize operations and complete a conversion to a new assessment database.

The assessor said the office's staff had fallen from about 20 to 10 when workload increased; the office is currently about 14 staff and has added roughly 3,600 parcels to its workload. "We went down to 10 without any reduction in our workload, and then we are at about 14 right now," he said, adding that the pause gives staff time to address backlog and data quality concerns.

On methodology, the assessor declared the county's 2026 assessment level at 95% of market value and explained the difference between assessments and tax levies: "Your taxes are not gonna be frozen. Taxes are set by governing boards," he said, stressing that assessment updates do not themselves set tax rates.

The office is converting to Tyler Technologies' enterprise assessment product, funded in part by a Local Government Efficiency grant, with a target go-live date of July 1, 2027. The assessor said the new system will include a CAMA module, improved public access to data, and integrations that may reduce manual data entry from other county systems.

He outlined plans to resume valuation work and return to a higher level of assessment by 2029, and described continued attention to exemptions and corrections: the office reported five final roll corrections so far this year and emphasized that only certain errors (clerical or essential facts) are correctable under New York State Real Property Tax Law.

The assessor encouraged continued dialogue with legislators about assessment reporting and said the office is preparing options — including multi-year cycles — for future reassessment practice.