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Assessment decrease shakes Westfield

WESTFIELD — An assessment reduction in the town has brought concern from at least two residents to the school board.

During the public participation segment of the Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education meeting earlier this month, the residents sought answers regarding the effect that a $3 million assessment reduction for a local property will have on the district. Robert Neratko, who owns property both in the village and the town, brought his concerns regarding the change in assessment value of Edgewater Condominiums, which became effective in July 2018.

Neratko noted that, before the Jan. 9, 2018, court decision, Edgewater Condominiums was assessed at the full value of $8,882,875 by the town of Westfield assessor, Bonnie Rae Strickland. An 18-month court battle resulted in that assessment being reduced by more than $3 million.

Neratko said that, to his knowledge, there has been no public notification of the assessment reduction. “This should have been made public by the town assessor and the town supervisor,” Neratko said. “This is a large amount of lost revenue.”

Westfield resident Tom Tarpley also expressed concern regarding the possible effect that the assessment reduction would have on school revenue. “Three million dollars is a big hit,” Tarpley said. “There was no transparency about this. The town said there was no need to make it public.”

Tarpley said that his main concern was where the lost revenue would come from. “The underlying issue becomes, since the money won’t come from Edgewater, do the taxpayers have to bear the burden?” he said.

Board President Steve Cockram responded that “ultimately it was a debate between Edgewater and the assessor.” Cockram went on to explain that funding for the district comes from state aid, as well as tax revenue. He said that the total dollar amount needed by the district does, in fact, get spread among the taxpayers.

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