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Assessor: educational mailing led to sharp rise in local tax‑exemptions
Summary
Peekskill’s assessor told the council an educational postcard campaign prompted dozens of residents to file property‑tax exemption applications in 2024, boosting senior, STAR and veterans exemptions; he asked the council to continue funding the mailing in the 2025 budget.
Peekskill’s assessor, Bob, told the council the 2024 educational mailing reached more than 5,600 residential property owners and produced measurable increases in applications for tax exemptions.
"As a result, the number of senior citizens exemptions increased from 236 to 289," Bob said, citing a 22% gain in senior exemptions. He reported enhanced STAR exemptions rose from 608 to 662, veterans exemptions from 444 to 467, and disability exemptions from five to nine. The assessor said the office processes about 3,100 exemption filings annually and that the spike was a direct result of the bilingual postcard campaign.
Bob presented a compact 2025 budget request that he described as a relatively small net increase — about $22,500 — to cover health‑insurance costs, regular salary steps and an expanded appraisal line tied to anticipated 2025 appraisal work. He told the council the mailing is mandated by state practice but not every municipality supports doing it locally; he recommended continuing the outreach, while pledging to provide follow‑up data the council requested on the share of properties currently enrolled in exemptions.
Councilors praised the outreach and asked the assessor to estimate peer‑community exemption rates for context. Bob said he would email a comparative figure to the council.
What’s next: staff will include the assessor’s line items in the budget packet and the council can act as part of the overall 2025 budget process.
