SARATOGA SPRINGS – Aug. 1 marks the official date for the new assessment roll to come into play with the annual list of taxable property in Saratoga Springs. Typically averaging $20 to $25 million in new property additions, this year’s roll will depict more than 600 changes of assessment and is expected to top $70 million tied to new additions.
“We essentially tripled the output of the department and were putting roughly $76 million on the assessment roll year-over-year,” said Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran.
“This the work we’ve been able to do to leverage some of the backlog that was existing when I took office, bring us current, and push us forward,” he said. “We owe it to people that everybody is paying their fair taxes.”
The $76 million going on the assessment roll translates to dollars that weren’t getting taxed before that will now be getting taxed moving forward. In specific city revenue, that is expected to translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“If our rate stays the same in ’25 as it was ’24 we will collect an extra half million dollars in revenue,” said Moran, adding that costs associated with the appraiser, yet to be itemized, will come in at approximately $100,000, netting the city an estimated four to five times in incoming revenue compared to the costs required to process the work. Additionally, the new assessment figures depict an update that will be reported beyond the current year and going forward into the future.
“This is like found money,” Moran said. “We’re capturing the value that’s already out there that hasn’t been connected to the roll. That’s residential home improvements and commercial properties.”
In all, there are 680 changes of assessment – of which 105 were from splits and mergers, such as the property where the Adelphi Hotel was built, now split into 80 separate units, instead of one parcel. Those with properties affected in the new tax rolls have been notified, Moran said, adding that the city’s updating efforts are part of a multi-year process.
“We’re doing two things; One is trying to get caught up on all the old files, which we successfully did. Basically, I want to have as accurate a set of records as we possibly can, because that’s what’s going to drive fairness. If someone has a 2,500 square foot home but it’s listed as 2,000 square feet – then they’re not paying their fair share of taxes,” he said.
“Now, with everything caught up and being up to date on what transpired in the past, we went around and took new photographs and updated the data. We basically did that survey for the entire city.” Those were compared with the values existing in the property record system, with properties indicating a greater than 25% variance in square footage specifically identified.
“That is our next round,” Moran said. “We’re now going to be sending letters out to those folks so we can get a deeper understanding into what the situation is. I’ve been going through this for two years and this is the last piece to be ironed out. I’m incredibly proud of the work we did. At the end of this go-through we will have the most accurate assessment record we possibly can have for this community.”
The variances can be a result of many things: human error, fact-figuring, additions to “flipped” houses where building permits weren’t properly secured, among them.
“If you just went and cleaned up the kitchen or re-painted the wall, we’re not going to see that, nor would we care. Really what we’re talking about is additional square footage, extra out-building, someone built a garage, things like that. There are going to be people who will fall into that category, and we’ll find the right way to rectify those issues.” Moran said.
“There are other people who perhaps just intentionally avoided doing things the right way. Some people just inherited the situation, and we don’t want to jam anybody up. But if there are people who very clearly did not follow the process – that’s tax cheat and you’re not really acting in the way we would expect a citizen to act.”
A PowerPoint-led presentation is anticipated to be staged during a City Council meeting in August.
