New assessments coming soon in Town of Yates

‘There’s going to be numbers that people aren’t used to seeing. The assessments are going to go up.’

YATES – The notices should be in the mail soon for about 1,800 property owners in the Town of Yates.

Town Assessor Trisha Laszewski said next week she will be done with a town-wide revaluation, the town’s first in five years. Laszewski said the notices will then be printed and mailed out.

There may be some shock with higher assessments that reflect a marketplace that has been climbing about 15 to 20 percent a year.

“There’s going to be numbers that people aren’t used to seeing,” Laszewski told the Town Board during Thursday’s town meeting. “The assessments are going to go up.”

She said the assessor’s job is to have the property values match sale prices.

“I have to try to make it as equitable as possible,” she said.

The higher assessments should result in lower tax rates. The actual tax bills shouldn’t see a dramatic change for property owners, as long as the town stays within or close to the 2 percent tax cap.

Town Supervisor Jim Simon said he expects town taxes won’t see more than a minimal increase. So the town tax bills should have a smaller tax rate with the higher assessments for the 2025 town budget.

Property owners can meet with the assessor to challenge their assessed values, and also bring those disputes to a Board of Assessment Review.

Laszewski said the state says about 10 percent of properties typically go through the grievance process when there is a town-wide reassessment. She is setting aside time to meet with 150 property owners, and can do more if needed.

She also was the assessor for Shelby and Ridgeway for their reassessments last year.

Besides Yates, Gaines and Albion are also doing the revaluations this year.

Laszewski said the town hall in Yates will be a busier place in May after the assessments come out.

“Next month we will be in the thick of everything,” she told the Town Board.