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Hague board votes to retain law firm to pursue school-equalization relief
Summary
The Town Board voted to retain outside counsel (at $300/hour) to explore challenges to Ticonderoga Central School District equalization rates, citing possible material savings to Hague taxpayers; scope and cost estimates will be defined before larger spending decisions.
The Town Board moved and approved retention of outside counsel to pursue potential relief related to the Ticonderoga Central School District equalization rates. The draft resolution authorizes retaining the named law firm at $300 per hour to evaluate and, if appropriate, pursue an alternative or special equalization rate for the town.
A School Advisory Committee member told the board the committee had conducted independent reviews with the town assessor and town appraiser and believed there is a "high expectation" of improvement. "If we are correct in this and we get even a 5% to 10% change in the ... equalization rates, it could amount to about 300 to $700,000 per year in reduction of Hague's school taxes," the SAC speaker said. The board said it will seek a defined scope, timetable and cost estimate from counsel before committing the town's full budget allocation for the effort.
The action reflects an ongoing effort by the SAC and the town to address perceived assessment anomalies; the town previously allocated $100,000 in its budget for legal advice related to school-tax matters and will review counsel's scope before authorizing additional expenditures.
