Canton plans public education initiative before property revaluation starts
According to Canton Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley, the revaluation project has been five years in the making and stems from significant tax roll inequities that have not been addressed since a 2008 assessment.
The COVID-19 pandemic initially stalled efforts, but the town has since committed to a $180,000, two-year evaluation process.
"This is about fundamental fairness," Ashley said at the Town Board meeting May 14.
The committee aims to create and distribute easily understandable materials explaining the revaluation process, increase outreach efforts to aid resident comprehension, and emphasize the importance of responding to official notices.
Educational materials will also clarify the revaluation's significance and timeline, while addressing common misconceptions about property assessments.
At the meeting, Deputy Village Mayor Anna Sorenson said that the collective decision was to collaborate on a public education project concerning the property revaluation. The aim is to create accessible and comprehensive materials to educate the public on this matter.
The material will be developed in June by the committee working alongside GAR Associates and will be available online and in the village and town offices later in the summer when GAR starts reaching out to property owners.
GAR Associates is in the data collection phase and is relying on publicly available data and the work of town assessor Cindy Brand. Brand has collected information from every property in the town by visiting each one, taking a photo from the road and updating the information.
There are more than 4,000 properties in the town.
GAR will compile its information and mail it to each property owner to verify its accuracy sometime around the end of the summer.
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