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Valuation-file funding proposal fails after supervisors push towns to contribute; veterans tax exemption highlighted
Summary
Wayne County supervisors voted 0-5 to reject a county-funded Valuation Factor File (VFF) proposal after concerns that towns would be double-billed. Real Property Tax Director Karen Ambroz also flagged potential local impacts of changes to the Alternative Veterans Exemption (Section 458-a), estimating roughly $8 million in taxable assessed value could be removed if towns opt in.
Real Property Tax Director Karen Ambroz proposed releasing an RFP and incorporating funding for a County-wide Valuation Factor File (VFF) into next year’s budget, but the committee rejected the county-funded request by a vote of 0-5.
Ambroz said the original estimate was about $25,000 but a later quote from GAR raised the cost to $30,000 and shifted the expected payment to county taxpayers. Supervisor Dawn Pisciotti objected that the Town of Arcadia already paid for the same data as part of its revaluation and would be asked to pay twice. The resolution failed by a vote of 0-5.
Ambroz also alerted the committee to recent changes to the Alternative Veterans Exemption under Section 458-a, noting that municipalities may now fully exempt qualifying veterans from taxation, including special district taxes. "Approximately $8 million in taxable assessed value across 40 parcels could be removed from the tax rolls," Ambroz said, and she cautioned that local veterans’ organizations do not yet have an accurate count of eligible owners.
Supervisors agreed the county should not unilaterally assume the entire cost of the VFF and that towns interested in the updated data should contribute. Ambroz indicated the issue was informational at this meeting and that assessors may raise it with supervisors going forward.
