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The
Town of Franklin has agreed to delay a townwide reassessment until
2010. The request came from Doug Tichenor, the town assessor, who
said he is hampered by a staff member on medical leave and the
ongoing reassessment in neighboring Harrietstown.
“I
want to make sure it's done right,” he told the board.
The
town's equalization rate is currently at 60 percent and would likely
fall to about 52 percent next year, he said.
Tichenor said he hasn't seen a wide disparity between different
types of properties. For example, waterfront properties are assessed
at about 46 percent of market value while residential sales are
assessed at about 50 percent of market value.
“No
single type of property stands out as being under or overvalued,” he
said.
Towns
run into trouble when one type of property – such as waterfront –
rises at a faster rate than others and the town waits too long to do
a reassessment, he explained.
Delaying the reassessment shouldn't
cause any big shocks to ratepayers, Tichenor concluded. His ultimate
goal, he continued, is to get all four towns in the Saranac Lake
Central School District on the same assessment cycle so that each
town completes their revaluation the same year.
Supervisor Mary Ellen Keith also reported that she and Tichenor had
attended the Adk Action forum last month. The political action
committee contends that the state undervalues its holdings in towns
leaving local governments under compensated.
But
Tichenor said that in his 25 years as an assessor, he didn't think
that was necessarily true.
“I've
always used the state land figures,” he told the board, “because
I've found it to be the same or greater (value) than a private
forest parcel.”
The
town board unanimously approved Tichenor's request to postpone the
reassessment. Councilman Walt Kretser was absent from the meeting.
In
other news, newly appointed Highway Superintendent Wade Sullivan
admitted that work has been slowed down but said it's because of a
severe staffing shortage.
Following the resignation of the past two highway superintendents,
the highway department has only four employees from its usual
compliment of nine.
A new
hire came on this week and another is slated to begin next week, he
said. Sullivan is serving as acting highway superintendent until the
November election when he faces Jacques Demars for the elected
position. Should he lose, he said he will return to the crew as an
employee.
In
the meantime, Sullivan said the town crews haven't had the manpower
to mow as much as usual. Work is also continuing on a number of road
projects, he said.
The
board also received word that highway employee Mike Canty resigned
as deputy superintendent. Canty hasn't quit the department, the
board was told, he just doesn't want the supervisory
responsibilities.
Sullivan has five days to appoint a new deputy superintendent.
And
finally, town officials say they still haven't seen the charges
against them for alleged illegal dumping on town land off Norman
Ridge Road. Supervisor Mary Ellen Keith said she was told by the
Department of Environmental Conservation that a notice was delivered
to the highway department but board members haven't been able to
locate any such paperwork.
“We've never received it,” said Councilwoman Janet Ordway.
Councilman Clifford Smalley agreed. “I think we need to see a copy
of this,” he said. “We're the board – we just want to see what we're
being accused of.”
DEC
spokesman David Winchell told WNBZ that the agency is still
investigating. “The investigation is still ongoing and therefore DEC
is not making any comment on the matter,” Winchell wrote Monday in a
statement.
-Jacob Resneck, 9-16-08
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