Latest news with #Cataldo
CNBC
24-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
New homeowners should do one key task for long-term tax savings, real estate attorney says
If you just bought a house, it may be a good time to check the accuracy of your property tax assessment, experts say. Your property tax assessment is the way officials determine the value of your property for tax purposes. Inaccuracies about your home that factor into that formula could mean that you're overpaying. If it's inaccurate, you likely have most of the essential documents you need to appeal, as part of your recent home purchase, according to Sal Cataldo, a real estate lawyer and partner at O'Doherty & Cataldo in Sayville, New York. The title report, for instance, is going to tell you the age of the house, Cataldo said. You might have a home inspection report on hand that details the property's flaws, as well as an appraisal and your mortgage, which show the value of the house and the comparable value in the neighborhood. "You've gotten a wealth of information about your house, whether you realize it or not," Cataldo said. More from Personal Finance:House Republican bill calls for bigger child tax creditCollege majors with the best and worst job prospectsHere's how to save on groceries amid food price inflation A home sale will typically trigger a property tax reassessment because the property is changing hands, with the new market value applied to the assessment. But the specific rules of when the new value is applied and the frequency of reassessments will depend on your area. Here's why it may be valuable to add reviewing your property tax assessment to your to-do list as a newly minted homeowner: In addition to your mortgage payment, home insurance and maintenance costs, property taxes are another factor to consider as you assess your housing expenses. In recent years, property taxes have climbed because of rising home values and tax rates. The median property tax bill in the U.S. in 2024 was $3,500, up 2.8% from $3,349 in 2023, according to an April report by Realtor. How much you pay varies widely depending on where you live, and some areas see higher bills and price hikes. As of 2023, the median property tax for homeowners in New York City was $9,937, LendingTree found in a recent report. The city ranks first among the metropolitan areas with the highest median property taxes. Rounding out the top three are San Jose, California and San Francisco, where homeowners paid a median $9,554 and $8,156, respectively. It's not uncommon for properties to be over-assessed, meaning you end up paying more taxes than you should be, said Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation: "It pays to check." Sometimes it's because details in your assessment were never corrected over the years, such as an incorrect square footage of livable space or the amount of bathrooms that are actually in your home. NTUF estimates 30% to 60% of taxable property in the U.S. is over-assessed, based on reports from individual state tax assessors. Success in the appeal can lead to savings for several years as the change becomes the basis for the next assessment, said Sepp. While some state or local governments reassess annually, others have less-frequent cycles with gaps of several years. Some have no set schedule at all. Over 40% of homeowners across the U.S. could potentially save $100 or more per year by protesting their assessment value, with median savings of $539 a year, per estimates.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Goshen mayor sentenced in election fraud scandal
GOSHEN — Goshen's former mayor will serve a suspended sentence on probation after pleading guilty and being sentenced in court Friday. Allan Kauffman, who served as mayor of Goshen from 1997 to 2015, was subsequently charged with election fraud while serving as a member of the Goshen Community Schools Board of Trustees in 2022. On Friday, he pleaded guilty to all six charges, without a plea agreement and skipped presentence investigation, moving straight on to sentencing. Kauffman was one of three incumbent members of the Goshen School Board and one newcomer accused of election fraud after they released a costly mailer to addresses in Elkhart Township. According to Elkhart County Superior Court 3 Judge Teresa Cataldo, Kauffman was the ringleader. 'Because others entrusted that you would know that law since you're the one that has been in the public service for so long, they put their trust in you,' Cataldo said. 'Because of your position, people will listen to you. People expect you to know what to do and they trust that you will give them advice that won't get them into trouble.' Cataldo argued that Kauffman held a greater responsibility. 'You have had a dedicated life to the service of the public,' Cataldo said. School board members, Jose Elizalde, Mario Garber, Roger Nafziger and non incumbent Andrea Johnson, were all running for Goshen Community School Board. Kauffman reportedly gathered and distributed $11,770 among the four candidates as Elizalde's campaign chairman. The funds were divided among the four candidates and then pulled to release a mailer denouncing three of the other 2022 candidates Rob Roeder, Ryan Glick and Linda Hartman, and their connection to Purple For Parents on Oct. 29. During an Elkhart County Election Board hearing on April 27, 2023, Kauffman said he was approached by retired school teacher Sue Neeb because of concerns she had about the Purple for Parents-affiliated school board candidates. Neeb allegedly told Kauffman she was concerned about the future of local education should Purple for Parents-endorsed candidates Roeder, Glick and Hartman gain elected office. Kauffman said the teacher wished to remain anonymous to prevent backlash of her husband's business. The teacher gathered the funds and Kauffman distributed them between the four election candidates, whose campaign finance committees paid Maple Leaf Printing for the cost of the mailer. They listed Kauffman as the donor on campaign finance forms, which the election board later discovered was technically untrue. Per election law, any person who donates more than $100 toward a campaign should be listed on finance forms. The Elkhart County Election Board found that Neeb had collected funds from a total of 32 individuals and, while she did keep some records, election law dictates that donors offer name, address, occupation, date, and dollar amount for all donations — and Neeb did not collect all of the necessary information. Each of the five individuals were charged with filing a fraudulent report, a Level 6 felony. All but Kauffman were charged with a single count of accepting a contribution made in another's name, a Class B misdemeanor, after allegedly filing fraudulent campaign finance reports. Kauffman, has the same charges but has five counts of the Class B misdemeanor instead of just one. Garber, Nafziger and Elizalde are current sitting board members. Kauffman resigned from the board Feb. 26, 2024, citing health concerns. Keith Goodman was voted in as his replacement in late March. Nafziger, Elizalde and Garber were sentenced by plea agreement last year, to filing a fraudulent report, a Level 6 felony, and the convictions were each entered as a Class A misdemeanor. The deal offered to the other members of the election fraud scandal was to plead guilty to the felony and be sentenced to 365 days at the Elkhart County Jail, suspended on reporting probation, with probation to be terminated after one weekend of a community-oriented work program. Prosecution has said they offered the same misdemeanor status to almost everyone involved in the case, or at the very least agreed to stay silent if it was requested. But the offer would not stand for Kauffman, who was regarded by the state and apparently Judge Cataldo, too, as the ringleader, having collected and distributed the funds. On Friday, Kauffman pleaded openly in court to all charges, without a plea agreement and went on directly to sentencing. Kauffman's attorney Peter Britton also said that Kauffman openly explained the circumstances and his part in the scandal to the Elkhart County Election Board, resulting in a fine of about $2,000 as a civil sanction for violations. In addition, Britton explained that the money that was gathered was all used for the exact election purposes as Kauffman said it would be. A slew of supporters in attendance, and over a dozen letters in support of Kauffman's character were also submitted to the court during his sentencing, and Britton read a letter from Kauffman, who apologized to the court for his actions and explained the oversight, but did not speak much during the hearing himself. Britton did further explain Kauffman's deteriorating health and declining mental state as a result of Parkinson's. Britton told the court that given the circumstances and his dwindling health due to a progressive neurological disorder and at 76-years-old, Kauffman has no intention of running in any future elections. Britton also explained as a mitigating factor that, diagnosed formally in 2024, Kauffman may have also been suffering from the same neurological deficits or psychosis during the situation in 2022. 'It's been difficult because with that history, he has made a name for himself in the community,' he said. 'And through his own conduct since this event transpired… his reputation has been damaged significantly and that's something that he finds very disturbing since he worked so hard to build that reputation up.' Britton also asked that, like the other defendants, Kauffman's Level 6 felony be treated as a misdemeanor. Elkhart County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kaitlynn Campoli argued that the incident was no mistake. 'Anyone who runs for public office should, at the bare minimum, be reading the rules and following those rules,' she said. 'Mr. Kauffman absolutely knew better. He was a prior elected official, mayor of the City of Goshen, he's very familiar with these processes and disclosures that must be made.' Campoli argued that Kauffman was the mastermind and used his authority to lead the others in the fraud case. 'Mr. Kauffman was going to use whatever means possible to effectuate his goals,' Campoli said. 'Given that he was an elected official, he held himself out as having authority and he knew others would be reliant on that and relied on him and his experiences.' Cataldo appeared to agree with Campoli. 'Your intent was not to defraud, but it was an intent to deceive,' Cataldo said, saying she didn't know why people who wanted to donate to those campaigns didn't just donate to those campaigns. 'The fact that this is coming up and others depended on your expertise in this area and now they are faced with felony charges also, I understand that you might feel remorse for that, but that doesn't negate the fact that you were the one in this instance that was entrusted to make sure that all of these things would be done correctly and they weren't.' Cataldo said she was struggling to give credence to the law of Indiana but also expectations toward what happens when someone breaks election law. 'It didn't harm any specific person or property, but what I do think it harmed is the democratic system itself, because everybody thinks that politicians can't be trusted, politicians are always lying and politicians are always trying to hide something,' Cataldo said. 'In this case, the politician was trying to hide something and that means politicians can't be trusted. You haven't harmed any one person, but this has severely harmed the system, and it's a system that I try to upload and I hold very near and dear to my heart.' Kauffman was sentenced on Count 1, filing a fraudulent report, a Level 6 felony, to one year at the Elkhart County Correctional Facility suspended on reporting probation; Counts 2 through 6, all reckless contribution to a campaign, a Class B misdemeanor, to 180 days at the Elkhart County Jail suspended on one year of reporting probation. All sentences to be served concurrently. He was also fined $10,000, and the fine was suspended. One of the accused remains unconvicted. Andrea Johnson is the only individual accused who had never run for public office before the 2022 election. Her jury trial was scheduled for May 12, but on Wednesday a motion for continuance was filed. A hearing on the motion will be held on April 30.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Teachers union removing materials knocked as anti-Semitic
BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–The Massachusetts Teachers Association says it will remove objectionable materials included in an online educational resource, following concerns over antisemitism. The union said the MTA Board of Directors had voted to share resources on the Israel-Hamas war with its members, and developed a page of materials that strove to help teachers engage in difficult conversations with students about the conflict, and consider diverse opinions. MTA and lawmakers discuss Israel-Palestine material in classrooms 'As trusted educators, MTA members would never want to have antisemitic materials on the MTA website, and the MTA does not promote materials that direct hate at any group. We will remove any materials that do not further the cause of promoting understanding,' says a statement released on Wednesday. The statement adds, specifically, that links to sites showing 'offensive images' shown at a Feb. 10 legislative hearing of a Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism will be removed. The union's statement adds that the resource document was a web page that was meant to be 'fluid,' and MTA staff understood 'that links to materials would be added and deleted.' During a legislative hearing earlier this month, the House Chair of the special commission Rep. Simon Cataldo called an MTA resource page on the Israel-Hamas war 'virulently antisemetic.' Co-Chair Sen. John Velis said the materials were 'incredibly one-sided.' Cataldo walked MTA President Max Page and attendees through dozens of pages he took issue with, including an image of a dollar bill folded up into a star of David and political posters of soldiers in keffiyeh scarves carrying assault weapons. Page told the commission that the images and articles compiled by the MTA were behind a members-only page of their website, for teachers to consider as a resource — not automatically use in classrooms. He said they were curated as educational materials that showed diverse perspectives of a nuanced conflict. Cataldo said in a statement shared with the News Service on Wednesday that the commission called the Feb. 10 public hearing after the MTA's own members, including both Jewish and non-Jewish public school teachers, reached out to lawmakers' offices with concerns 'about outrageously one-sided and offensive materials' that the union was circulating 'to 'aid pedagogy.'' 'That the MTA is only just now beginning to 'review' the resources would be laughable if the subject matter wasn't so gravely serious,' Cataldo said. In an email addressed to lawmakers sent on Wednesday, and shared with the News Service, Page said, 'We had already begun a review of those resources, and our staff will identify any links that inadvertently have not lived up to our ethical standards and will be removed.' Page continued, 'I would never want to have antisemitic materials on the MTA website. I would not promote materials that direct hate at any group.' In his statement, Cataldo said he and Velis have heard from MTA teachers across the state over the past week who are grateful to the commission for addressing the issue in public. 'The teachers' outreach adds to the chorus of parents who are appalled that these materials were introduced to teachers for the purpose of 'educating' teachers and students about these complex issues,' Cataldo said. He continued, 'It's deeply concerning that the MTA's leadership not only ignored the pleas of its own members to revisit these materials, but gaslit Jewish teachers and others who formally petitioned the MTA's board to have the materials taken down or revised. Only after over a week of intense public pressure following the February 10 public hearing is the MTA conceding that a 'review' is necessary and questioning its own actions. Apparently, the advocacy of the MTA's own Jewish and non-Jewish members proved insufficient to dislodge the MTA from its position.' Velis said in a statement that 'today's acknowledgment [by the MTA] is long overdue' after teachers' concerns had been falling 'on deaf ears.' The Senate chair added that removing the materials from the MTA's website is 'only one step of correcting this grave injustice and the education malpractice.' 'Additionally, and as importantly, adding additional resources to reflect the nuance and balance of this incredibly complex subject is absolutely paramount,' Velis said. He added that this situation shows how 'vitally important' the commission's work is. In both the public statement and in Page's email to lawmakers, the union addresses Cataldo specifically. Page and the House chair had a tense exchange during the Feb. 10 hearing. Cataldo kept up an interrogation-style line of questioning to Page, and Page at times refused to answer the representative. 'I remain deeply disappointed that in my conversations with the House co-chair prior to the February 10 hearing, I had been led to believe that the commission hearing would provide the opportunity for a thoughtful discussion about how to teach this very difficult conflict with our students. Instead, the co-chair used this hearing as an opportunity to engage in political grandstanding that was disturbing to many, including other legislators,' Page said in his email to lawmakers. Cataldo said he had informed Page weeks in advance that they would be discussing the educational materials in detail. He said he told Page both that teachers had come to him with concerns, and that he reviewed the materials himself and shared concerns. Page said in his email, 'This attack based on cherry-picked items – as problematic as they are – did not advance the work of the commission.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cataldo: 'Getting to the quarter-final of the FA Cup would be massive'
Cataldo - who has racked up 17 appearances for Newcastle - made her debut just four days after joining the club, and has never looked back on her decision to join the club, then in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division. The former England youth international was dealt a cruel blow on the opening day of the current season, picking up an injury which kept her out until the start of December, but it's been nothing but positive steps for the full-back upon her return. "These past 12 months have been simply amazing," Cataldo told "I've already achieved great things with this club. "Getting promoted last season was a surreal feeling, and to now be in the Championship and competing week in and week out is even better. "Every day when I come into training, I'm just buzzing to be here and play for this football club. While it's been over a year since I joined, I feel as though I'm just getting started, and I know that I've got levels I can still go to." Picking up the Sela Player of the Month award for January was a huge honour for the 23-year-old, but she insists she is always looking to improve, no matter the level of her performances. The two-time Barclays Women's Championship winner has started the previous seven games across all competitions, which is only one appearance fewer than she was afforded during her time with this weekend's Women's FA Cup opponents, Crystal Palace Women. While Cataldo was disappointed to have only had a short stint at Palace, she added that it has only made her a better all-around footballer and allowed her to display her ability consistently. "It was a nice surprise (to win Player of the Month), especially because I'd say I'm my own biggest critic, but deep down I knew I'd been putting in good performances," she said. "Since I came to Newcastle, I've been able to show what I'm capable of, and hopefully I can continue to showcase that on Sunday, but I know it'll be a bit strange going back there. "Sometimes in football, you hope things will go a certain way and they don't, but off the back of my time at Palace I was able to come here, and I'd say that's worked out pretty nicely for me. "I didn't get a load of game time when I was at Crystal Palace. It happens, and that's football. I've been able to come to Newcastle and grasp the opportunities I wasn't perhaps afforded with them." United reached the fourth round of the Women's FA Cup last season, surpassing their previous achievements, and a win on Sunday would book a spot in the quarter-finals. It will be the fourth time that Newcastle have pitted themselves against Women's Super League opposition this season, and United's number 99 is full of belief heading down to the capital. "Getting to the quarter-final of the FA Cup would be massive for the club," she added. "We've already gone further than we did last season in the same competition, so that in itself is a big achievement for everyone. "We know it's going to be a good challenge to test ourselves against a team from a higher division. Palace are a good club, and I don't think their position in the league is very reflective of how they've played this season. "I definitely think we can look to go even further, and there's no reason why we shouldn't have belief in ourselves."
