Carmel Tax Error Raises Questions

Last week, the Courier reported that the Carmel Town Board voted unanimously to reduce water and sewer district charges for a Stoneleigh Avenue property after the initial charges levied were deemed “erroneous.” With some Putnam political leaders proposing the consolidation of tax assessment offices to improve both efficiency and accuracy, the Courier contacted Carmel Town Assessor Paul Jonke to determine whether such erroneous assessments are common. The water and sewer fees on the land, owned by the Putnam Community Foundation, were reduced from $378,780 to $207,274.40.

As of press time on Wednesday, Jonke had yet to return any of the Courier’s phone calls from either this week or last. But George Michel, Putnam County’s director of real property service, told the Courier Wednesday that though the assessment error made on the Putnam Community Foundation’s parcel is not common, mistakes do happen from time to time.

“There’s no perfect system, but there are checks and balances,” Michel said, noting that his office serves as the court of appeals when property owners wish to question a particular assessment.

In the case of the Putnam Community Foundation, it also seems that the tax bills were sent to an incorrect address. Explaining why the foundation had yet to pay any of the water and sewer charges, Carmel Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt told the Courier last week that the land owner had been billed each year but the bills were sent to what the town was later informed was a “bad address.” These bills also listed the PCF as a commercial property; however, the land should have been taxed as residential.

“In this particular case the process is with the town board, not the county,” Michel said. According to Michel, the Putnam Community Foundation applied for a refund on all water and sewer levies last fall and they were denied. As a nonprofit organization, the Putnam Community Foundation does not have to pay property taxes, but it is still required to pay water and sewer fees. “In reference to this property in particular, I know the people involved with it and the decision [for Michel not to remove the fees] wasn’t made lightly,” said Michel. He explained, though, that it isn’t common to waive water and sewer taxes for a property that uses running water. The foundation, which was started by State Senator Vincent Leibell, a current candidate for county executive, plans to build 120 senior housing units at the site, which is adjacent to the Putnam Hospital Center.

Such assessment errors could serve as fodder for those proposing consolidation. According to Putnam County Legislator Mary Ellen Odell, who chairs the legislature’s Committee on Fiscal Vision, she and her colleagues on the committee, along with Deputy County Executive John Tully, have been exploring the pros and cons of consolidating the jobs of the county’s town assessors. Correspondingly, Michel added that a countywide assessing position would be easier than dealing with eight different assessors for Putnam County alone.

“[The Committee on Fiscal Vision] has identified consolidation of the assessors as our number one focus for the current fiscal year,” said Odell, who is challenging fellow Republican Leibell in a primary race for county executive. Consolidation makes sense, she said, because, currently, “each town has a different and subjective formula for assessing.”

Michel compared the county’s multiple assessing districts to New York City, which has one central district. Putnam, for example, has six school districts, as well as BOCES, and each district has its own administrators. “For every dollar spent on real property services, $.09 goes to the county and $.73 goes to the school district,” said Michel.

As Jonke could not yet be reached for comment it is unclear whether or not he is in favor of consolidating assessor duties throughout the county.

“We’ve had him on our agenda for the past two meetings,” Odell said, noting that the Carmel assessor had cancelled shortly before the two previous meetings of the Committee on Fiscal Vision. “We’ve been waiting for Paul Jonke.”