The total number of grievance applications submitted by city residents this year increased from 323 to 415 by the end of the day Tuesday — Grievance Day.
City Assessor Molly MacElroy said by 8 p.m. on Tuesday 415 homeowners in Schenectady submitted applications to have their assessments lowered. That’s 31 less than last year.
“It was really that day that they increased,” MacElroy said in an email. “We took applications up to the end of the time that the [Board of Assessment Review] was meeting [until] 8 p.m.”
On Grievance Day the Board of Assessment Review heard people plead their case for an assessment reduction. The five-member board will review all applications and respond by July 1.
Last year, 43 percent of the 446 applications were granted a reduction in property assessment, MacElroy said.
Several people who presented their case to the board on Tuesday said they purchased their homes for much less than the assessed value. Homeowners also complained about the city’s high property taxes and pointed to high costs as an obstacle to pursuing home improvements.
Mayor Gary McCarthy said the city is looking at the possibility of a reassessment, but that he believes there is fairness in the tax roll. The equalization rate this year in the city is 121 percent of a property’s market value.
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