I have participated in assessment matters in the following Counties: Onondaga, Jefferson, Oswego, St Lawrence, Lewis, Hamilton, Oneida, Franklin, Clinton, Westchester, Delaware, Columbia, Ulster, Schoharie, Tompkins, Cayuga, Broome, Greene, Otsego, Madison, Wayne, Allegany, Essex, Monroe, and perhaps others I may have forgotten. And it grows every year. What you have described is a microcosm of BAR and SCAR in this state. My experience with SCAR hearing officers is better than what you have described, but in some places it is nearly identical. I have never seen a BAR that was transparent about what they are doing. It has become such a farce I often don't bother to attend I simply provide submissions. The problem with SCAR in my experience is that it is run by the Unified Court System and they simply do not care. They appear to believe it is beneath them. In some cases I question how they choose their hearing officers. I've observed instances where they appear to be hand picked and the result predetermined. I've participated in well over 150 SCAR hearings. 80 as a hearing officer in 6 counties. I have observed everything you have described. I believe SCAR is a good program if it can be tweaked. It is asinine that a $40k parcel of land would be required to go to Supreme Court to get any semblance of a fair appeal. Its a small claims matter. As far as BAR....... every single BAR I've run in to is not transparent in their decisions. They simply check a box that indicates insufficient information. When the taxpayer provided volumes of information. I've seen BARs that provide people 5 minutes. Justified in one case because they have 14,000 properties. Well if you are collecting money from 14,000 properties you should have the money to do the job right. Bottom line is the towns and their assessors seem to think the taxpayers work for them not the other way around. Taxpayers should be treated like customers. Mike Franklin
I have participated in assessment matters in the following Counties: Onondaga, Jefferson, Oswego, St Lawrence, Lewis, Hamilton, Oneida, Franklin, Clinton, Westchester, Delaware, Columbia, Ulster, Schoharie, Tompkins, Cayuga, Broome, Greene, Otsego, Madison, Wayne, Allegany, Essex, Monroe, and perhaps others I may have forgotten. And it grows every year. What you have described is a microcosm of BAR and SCAR in this state. My experience with SCAR hearing officers is better than what you have described, but in some places it is nearly identical. I have never seen a BAR that was transparent about what they are doing. It has become such a farce I often don't bother to attend I simply provide submissions. The problem with SCAR in my experience is that it is run by the Unified Court System and they simply do not care. They appear to believe it is beneath them. In some cases I question how they choose their hearing officers. I've observed instances where they appear to be hand picked and the result predetermined. I've participated in well over 150 SCAR hearings. 80 as a hearing officer in 6 counties. I have observed everything you have described. I believe SCAR is a good program if it can be tweaked. It is asinine that a $40k parcel of land would be required to go to Supreme Court to get any semblance of a fair appeal. Its a small claims matter. As far as BAR....... every single BAR I've run in to is not transparent in their decisions. They simply check a box that indicates insufficient information. When the taxpayer provided volumes of information. I've seen BARs that provide people 5 minutes. Justified in one case because they have 14,000 properties. Well if you are collecting money from 14,000 properties you should have the money to do the job right. Bottom line is the towns and their assessors seem to think the taxpayers work for them not the other way around. Taxpayers should be treated like customers. Mike Franklin
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