BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Following a town-wide revaluation in Louisville that saw a number of property values spike, village of Massena officials addressed the impact of the village budget for Louisville residents who are within the village.

In West Massena, a small portion of the town of Louisville sits within the village limits. As a result, Mayor Greg Paquin touched on the impact the equalization rate has had on those residents.

“You’ll kind of notice the tax rate for Louisville went up more than the others. The reason behind that is because Louisville hasn’t done a reassessment. The equalization rate is now down to 60%. It’s what causes that to go up more than the others,” Paquin said.

He went on further, saying village residents in the town of Louisville saw an increase in the tax rate of over 6.92%, which equated to an increase of $1.49668 per $1000 of assessed value, increasing to $21.627007.

It was a different story in Massena, with a 1.1632% increase, equating to $0.19941 with an equalization rate of 80%.

“The town of Massena is at 80% now. When Louisville’s new reassessment kicks in next year, I’m hoping that will actually bring down that tax rate for the village residents in the town of Louisville. I’m not going to say a lot, but at least get closer to what the tax rate is for everybody else,” Paquin said.

Paquin said regular assessments are something residents may not like when property assessments increase, however regular assessments are necessary to avoid “punitive equalization rates.”

Reassessments have been hot topics in the North Country, with both Potsdam and Ogdensburg after GAR Associates completed reassessments that led to significant increases in numerous valuations.

The move to hire an outside firm was met with frustration by many residents in both municipalities, as GAR received $385,000 from Potsdam alone for the work conducted.

In that case, an assessment had not been done in 12 years and town officials hoped a revaluation would balance the scales on the tax valuations and bring everything up-to-date. And, the move to 100 percent valuation instead of the 69 percent equalization rate was also a goal.

However, when the property valuations went out at the beginning of March a percentage of property owners whose valuations went up received a sticker shock with some assessments clocking in at 50 to 100 percent more than what they were.

That's something Paquin also touched on during the recent village board meeting, noting that high price tag associated with the hiring of outside firms to complete such work.

He commented on the high price tag while informing attendees that the state typically requires revaluations to be completed "every two or three or four years."

He said it was his hope that when revaluations are completed by the town of Massena that taxes would again balance out for all residents, however those in the town of Louisville who are within the village of Massena will see higher tax bills in the meantime.

He also commented that those who have seen increases have a grievance process to contest the revaluations if they are so inclined.

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