By JIMMY LAWTON

COLTON – Some Colton taxpayers are facing sticker shock on their tax bills after some higher-end home and waterfront property owners had assessments and tax bills more than double in a single year.

Colton resident Warren Goodnow says his tax bill jumped by thousands of dollars due to the new assessments and he isn’t alone. He says the massive assessment hike has many residents on the water putting homes up for sale due to the substantial hikes.

“I’ve been here since 1982 and I have never seen so many places up for sale. It’s crazy,” he said.

Town Supervisor Dennis Bulger acknowledged the increase in assessments is a tough pill for taxpayers to swallow, but said they were necessary due to an out-of-court settlement reached with Brookfield Renewables, which operates more than a dozen hydroelectric dams in the township.

The town is going through some growing pains following the settlement with Brookfield that shifts a larger percentage of the tax burden onto the rest of taxpayers. While some taxpayers saw their assessments rise by only 10 or to 30 percent, some waterfront property owners saw assessments jump by well over 100 percent.

Cutting Costs Needed?

Goodnow said he understands why the assessments rose and is willing to pay his share of the taxes, but feels town officials must also do their part by scrutinizing the budget as the tax burden continues to move from the energy company to residents.

He says there is no light at the end of the tunnel for property owners with rising tax bills, noting $5 million in assessed value currently paid by Brookfield will be shifted to the taxpayers each year until 2019.

Town Supervisor Bulger, on the other hand, says the town council is always looks for ways to cut costs during the budgeting process.

“We try to minimize the impact on taxpayers on every line on the budget,” he said.

Bulger said the tax levy rose from $1.6 million in 2015 to $1.7 million in 2016 due to rising insurance rates, decreased sales tax takes, and unfunded state mandates.

He said the tax rate by increased 37 cents to $3.88 per $100,000 of assess property value.

That means a resident who had a home assessed at $100,000 in 2015 would have paid $3,551. But for those who had assessments doubled, the tax bill for 2016 would be $7,760.

Goodnow says taxpayers simply can’t afford to have tax rates and assessments continue to climb.

“It’s just not sustainable. People will pack up and leave. They can’t afford it,” he said.

What Happened?

For years, Brookfield had sought a massive reduction in its $175 million assessment of hydro dams within the township as it and its predecessor, Niagara-Mohawk, had paid the lion’s share of town taxes there for decades. That goal was achieved in a deal struck in 2013 that gradually reduces the total dam assessments down to $145 million by 2019.

Because of Brookfield’s contributions to the tax base, properties in Colton had not been reassessed in decades and were estimated to be at just 3.7 percent of their actual value.

In 2015, the town had a total assessed value of just under $14 million, but the true value was actually $380 million when taking into consideration the equalization rate, which is applied to under-assessed properties to ensure they pay their share of the tax bill.

Using this formula the town’s “true” market value in 2015 was equal to $380 million.

Part of the settlement reached with Brookfield required the town to bring their assessments up from 3.7 percent of estimated market value to 100 percent. To achieve this massive goal, a third party was hired to do a total revaluation of the town. That was completed in 2015 and residents paid their first tax bills under the new $406 million assessment this year.

Overall, the true value of property in the Town of Colton rose by about $36 million following the revaluation, from approximately $380 million to $406 million in a single year. While the increase may not seem particularly dramatic, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Disproportionate Impact

Bulger acknowledged the Town of Colton is going through a tough change, but said the deal reached with Brookfield is actually favorable considering the town’s relatively weak bargain position at the time.

“They could have easily won the case. They are actually being good neighbors by agreeing to phase this in over time. Actually, according to the State of New York, they will still be over-assessed when at $145 million.”

Bulger says without the deal, the town could have been on the hook for taxes paid by Brookfield during the years it was over-assessed.

On average, assessments rose by about 7 percent under the deal. Additionally, Brookfield’s portion of that total decreased from $175 million to $165 million, which shifted $10 million of the tax bill over to town property owners. Brookfield’s assessment is being gradually reduced each year until it reaches $145 million in 2019.

The numbers may not seem that dramatic when averaged, but the real assessments rose disproportionately for high-end and waterfront homes. A sampling of assessments reviewed by North Country This Week showed one waterfront home previously valued at $143,866 was reassessed to $280,300. Another jumped from $88,000 to $198,900.

Properties not on the water saw less dramatic increases, and a quick sampling on the St. Lawrence County’s tax collection website turned up examples previously valued at $72,000 now assessed for $88,700, and one at $106,666 going to $131,600.