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Residents urge reassessment and raise conflict-of-interest concerns at Tupper Lake board meeting
Summary
Multiple residents at the public‑comment period urged a town‑wide reassessment, raised possible conflicts of interest, and questioned enforcement of property codes and town support for village police; board members proposed a review committee and explained grievance and revaluation processes.
Several residents used the Jan. 12 public‑comment period to press the Town Board on property assessments, alleged conflicts of interest and code‑enforcement concerns. Stephen Jellie urged a townwide reassessment and told the board that “assessments are all over the place, some too high and some too low,” and also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving the board and staff.
Ron LaScala said a code violation at his home had not been addressed by the current Code Enforcement Officer and asked the town to increase its support for the Village Police Department. Chris Dewyea urged bringing in an outside assessor for the Kildare area, again citing inconsistent valuations.
Councilman Adam Boudreau acknowledged repeated complaints and proposed creating a committee to review specific properties and explain assessment methodology to residents; he said a transparent review could help dispel concerns. Supervisor Rick Dattola reminded residents that a statutory grievance process exists for individual assessment appeals and that a full town revaluation is a costly, multi‑month undertaking; Town Attorney Kirk Gagnier explained that state equalization rates are based on sales and do not directly determine tax levies.
Board members agreed to explore a limited review process and sample-area checks to provide clarity, but no formal revaluation was scheduled. The board directed staff to make Town Hall available for resident questions about assessments.
