Grants for Collaborative Property Tax Administration
Grant Application Deadline - July 1, 2008
New York's property tax system is, arguably, the most complex and confusing in the country. The State Office of Real Property Services is working with county and local governments to reform the system. The 2007-2008 Centralized Property Tax Administration Grant Program (CPTAP) has three components: grants to study countywide assessing, grants to study centralized tax collection, and payments for new county assessing units and county coordinated assessment programs (CAPs).
Countywide Collaborative Assessing
$25,000 will be advanced to counties to prepare
a study for the implementation of a program
of county assessing or county coordinated
assessing for all municipalities within the
county. An additional $25,000 will be awarded
upon receipt by ORPS of a copy of the study
and a copy of the minutes of the county legislature
or board of supervisors meeting that indicate
the plan has been received by the county
legislature or board of supervisors.
This is not a one-size-fits-all approach to collaboration.
Various structural solutions are
developing across the state, including cooperative
assessment programs and contractual models
and full county assessing. The focus of the
assessing study can be either the implementation
of a county assessing unit (such as currently
exists in Tompkins County) or a countywide
assessment program established through
existing provisions of law, such as section
1537 contracts and CAPs.
While the assessment studies must address the
implementation of either a county assessing
unit and/or a countywide coordinated assessment
program (again via CAPs, 1537's or referenda),
they can also address possible intermediate
or alternative steps short of full county assessing.
These intermediate or alternative steps
may in fact be necessary components of a program
that is comprised of CAPs or 1537 agreements.
The intermediate or alternative steps should be
oriented toward achieving the performance
characteristics that would presumably come
with a fully functioning countywide program
(e.g., countywide equalization rate of 100, data
centralized to the county or ORPS, countywide
standards inventory and sales processing, and
assessing units that meet certain size requirements
or involve contracts with the county).
The study does not require a recommendation. It is assumed that the county legislative body will analyze the report and reach its own conclusions
regarding future courses of action. Failure to submit the assessment study to the
county legislative body will not affect the first $25,000 payment.
New York State's Assessing Jurisdictions
(Does not include 145 village assessing units)
Number of
Parcels |
Number of
Assessing Units |
Cumulative |
Cumulative
Percent |
| < 1,000 |
139 |
139 |
14% |
| 1,001 - 2,500 |
444 |
583 |
59% |
| 2,500 - 5,000 |
222 |
805 |
82% |
| 5,000 - 10,000 |
101 |
906 |
92% |
| 10,001 - 20,000 |
47 |
953 |
97% |
| 20,000 - 50,000 |
21 |
974 |
99% |
| > 50,000 |
9 |
983 |
100% |
Countywide Collaborative Tax Collection
$25,000 will be advanced to counties to prepare
a study for the implementation of a county-level
database through which the taxable status, and
tax and payment history of every real property
parcel in the county may be ascertained. The
study must include a plan for managing this data
at the county level. Up to $25,000 will be provided
to defray the cost of implementation upon
submission by the county to ORPS of an executed
contract between the county and the technology
contractor who will create the database.
Failure to contract for centralized collection will
not affect that first $25,000 payment.
Grant Application Submission
All applications must be received by July 1, 2008.
For the Countywide Collaborative Assessing
study, submit a letter of application signed by
the chief executive of the county. The letter
must include the following information:
- The number of assessing units currently operating
in the county.
- The number of special taxing districts, including
school districts, currently operating
in the county.
- An estimate of the timeline necessary for the
implementation of county assessing.
For the Countywide Collaborative Tax Collection
study, submit a letter of application signed
by the chief executive of the county. The letter
must include the following information:
- The number of real property parcels in the
county, organized by assessing unit.
- The number of tax collection offices in each
of the county's assessing units.
- An estimate of the timeline necessary for the
implementation of countywide tax parcel
management.
Grants for New County/Coordinated Units
In addition to $7 per parcel consolidation incentive
aid, payments are available
through the grant program to new county
assessing units and new county coordinated assessing
programs.
$2 per parcel is available once a referendum establishing
county assessing has passed.
For countywide coordinated assessment programs
(CAPs), counties will receive $2 per parcel
for CAPs that include all parcels in the
county and that are managed by the county. One
dollar per parcel is available for new CAPs or
agreements that are managed by counties, but in
which less than 100% of the parcels in the
county are included.
For More Information
Please visit the website of the State Office of Real Property Services.
Substantive questions should be submitted to the County Grant Progam so that the answer can then be made available online.
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