The Board of Assessment Review meets Tuesday, May 16, in Town Hall to hear your assessment grievances.
Hours are 10 AM to noon and 7 to 9 PM.
The complaint process allows taxpayers to challenge property valuations. Each year, the assessors send all taxpayers a change of assessment notice. Follow this link to view the tentative roll for 2023/24. (Use your browser’s “find” function to search for your property.)
For comparison, follow this link to the final roll for the 2022/23 tax year.
Board Assessors and Board of Assessment Review
Under NYS law, the Board of Assessors determines a property’s valuation for tax purposes. Shelter Island has two elected assessors, Patricia Castoldi and Judith Lechmanski, who update the assessment roll annually.
The Town Board names five volunteers for the Board of Assessment Review. They meet on the third Tuesday in May to hear property owners’ complaints on grievance day and make changes.
The assessors’ office is short-staffed after the departure of William McCoy. The Town Board hired him last October in a shift away from having elected officials carry out the duties. But as of February, McCoy was no longer working for the Town, and there’s been no official word on efforts to replace him.
Meantime, the remaining assessors told Island property owners that the assessment notice they received may look different from that in years past.
“Unfortunately, our office was unable to do a complete revaluation of the town for the 2023/24 assessment roll,” they say on their Town webpage. “Thus, causing New York State to reduce our level of assessment from 89 percent to 73 percent.”
This means the assessed value no longer matches the market value.
How to file assessment grievances
If you disagree with an assessment, the next step is to call an assessor at 631-749-1080 and discuss your situation. Still not satisfied? File a “Complaint on Real Property Assessment” form.
Follow this link for the online form.
Alternatively, you can pick up a copy in the Assessors Office. Assessment Clerk Blanca Frausto can assist you in filling out the form if needed.
If you have questions about the assessors’ role in valuing property for taxation purposes, visit the Board of Assessors webpage, shelterislandtown.us/assessors.
Please email any other questions you have to assessor@shelterislandtown.us or call 631-749-1080.
