About Adirondack Explorer

The Adirondack Explorer is a nonprofit magazine covering the Adirondack Park's environment, recreation and communities.

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  1. Boreas says

    I think the numbers reported in the article are too narrow in scope. In Essex County, many of us are still recovering from the 2008 real estate crash. Essex Co. was likely over-valued prior to the crash and home values had a long way to fall. My modest 3 bedroom home took nearly a DOZEN years to get back to the 2008 assessment. So looking at a 5-year chunk of time is partly showing “increases” that are actually part of a recovery is very misleading.

  2. Black Bear Eating Human Garbage says

    THE ADIRONDACKS ARE A FRAUD. THIS IS NOT A PARK. THIS IS NOT A NATURE PRESERVE. THIS IS A PLACE FOR SUBURBANITES TO IMPOSE GRANDIOSE, STATUS SYMBOL HOUSES UPON WILDLIFE HABITAT.

  3. mom23ADK says

    “As city dwellers—mostly downstate—found themselves sheltered in their cramped apartments in the work-from-home environment, they often sought refuge far from their former confines, many trekking to the tranquil setting of a home within the Blue Line.”

    And here lies the problem. I think there’s a reason why Upstaters cant stand people from the city (or the tri-state area, for that matter).

  4. Bear Springs Corp. says

    The problem in New York is that property taxes (school-town-county and village where applicable) are anywhere between 3%-5% of value. The statewide average of percentage of taxes that go to schools is aprox. 62%. So a home valued at $250,000 with a total tax as a percentage of value of 4% would mean a $10,000 total tax bill, a $6,200 school tax bill and a total tax bite of $833.33 per month. (Estimates)

    This is what makes revaluation in New York so dangerous. Most taxing jurisdictions (i.e: elected officials) struggle to comprehend the relationship between tax levies and valuation, so your assessment may go up 20%, but your tax rate stays flat…meaning a higher tax bill. Tack on the fact that NY has more property tax exemptions than any other state (because state elected officials don’t have the smarts to retool the system to make it affordable, they just ad more exemptions and rebate checks-essentially giving back some of the money you have overpaid for decades). The system here is unbridled insanity and the state has no idea what they are doing or what they should do. Local assessors have an impossible task. Maintain some level of equity while spending most of their time doling out thousands of tax exemptions, which raise the rates for those not receiving all those exemptions. It’s a “Humbug” of immense proportions.

  5. ADIRONDACK STYLE says

    There’s nothing Adirondack Style about the architecture of that Monstrosity Mansion. THERE SHOULD BE A LEGAL REQUIREMENT THAT ALL STRUCTURES BE RESTRICTED TO SMALL, TINY, COTTAGES- MADE FROM NATURE – ADIRONDACK STYLE TO RESPECT NATURE!

  6. adkDreamer says

    For the record: If every real property in locality (school district, county/town) has their assessed value (valuation) increased by 20%, 30% or 50%, or decreased in a similar fashion, the tax burden as a share of the budgets remains the same for each and every real property. The actual taxed amount $$ depends upon the budgets themselves.

    If you really want to impact actual tax amounts, inquire of your school district budget and the county/town budgets.

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