HomeMy WebLinkAboutMonthly Report for February 8, 2023Monthly Report
Tompkins County Council of Governments
for February 8, 2023
by Councilperson Robert Lynch
Enfield TCCOG Representative
The Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) met on January 26, 2023 under its new
bimonthly schedule. Apart from its own reorganization, TCCOG took no formal actions that date.
However, the group did receive a detailed report from County Director of Assessment Jay Franklin
regarding the numerous property tax exemptions made available by New York State and not always
accessed by municipalities despite their availability.
Tompkins County Associate Planner Darby Kiley updated TCCOG on progress toward a consultant’s study
regarding Tompkins County’s potential role in consolidating code enforcement responsibilities. And the
TCCOG membership, at my motion, elevated Trumansburg Mayor and TCCOG Representative Rordan
Hart to become Vice Chair, putting Hart in TCCOG’s line of leadership.
Assessment: Given his appearance at TCCOG, I sought to follow-up on my earlier inquiry to Jay Franklin
concerning the prospect of the Town of Enfield convening its own Local Advisory Board of Assessment
Review. It comes as the Tompkins County Legislature on January 18th suspended indefinitely its
convening such town-based advisory boards at the County’s initiative. Jay Franklin had told me
following a January committee meeting that he’d confer with the County Attorney about the legality of
Enfield’s assembling such a home-grown panel. At TCCOG, January 26, Franklin effectively nixed the
idea. In response to my renewed question, Franklin stated this concerning a town-initiated Board:
“I don’t think it would be appropriate, because we wouldn’t be treating all of our residents the
same. And that’s one of our tenets of what my office does is everybody is treated the same. So,
if one Town were to offer some sort of other pseudo-assessment review process, I don’t think
that really would be appropriate. It really would give that property owner a false sense of
something may happen if they went there and provided their information to them.”
Given that the Department of Assessment would likely decline to send professional staff to advise any
Local Board Enfield might convene, it seems unlikely an Enfield-assembled Local Board would serve any
worthwhile purpose.
Jay Franklin presented to TCCOG a three-page summary of available Real Property Tax Exemptions, each
made available by state law, many of which require a Town to exercise its discretion to authorize.
Franklin’s attached spreadsheet made evident that many towns, including Enfield, have simply never
decided whether or not to permit many exemptions. One of the exemptions is the newly-offered
Volunteer Firefighter and Ambulance Worker Exception, an exemption being considered by our Town
Board tonight. But many other exemptions stand available, if accessed and Board-authorized;
exemptions for such things as capital improvements, historic preservation, and “Green Buildings.”
Franklin said he often gets the question about exemptions, “Why haven’t more places opted into
them?” Franklin’s answer, “Honestly, I don’t know.” Often, he surmises, municipal leaders wait for
Tompkins County to act first. Franklin said history has taught him to wait until Tompkins County avails
itself of an exemption before requesting a local municipality to consider adopting it as well. However,
with the Volunteer Firefighter Exemption, Franklin moved ahead of Tompkins County for sake of time.
TCCOG Monthly Report for February 8, 2023
Regarding the Volunteer Firefighters’ Exemption, Franklin noted that some volunteers might be wise not
to claim it only because it would preclude their also claiming a $200 state income tax credit, separately
available. You can’t claim both. Franklin said taxpayers can contact his office to help decide which of
these two exemptions would save him or her the most money.
Franklin made the point that when both Tompkins County and a town opt into the Firefighters
Exemption, it becomes more attractive for the property owner to take that property exemption instead
of the income tax credit. The exemptions essentially leverage each other.
“The big one would be school districts,” Franklin stressed, pointing out that if schools opted into the
exemption as well, the “sweet spot” of a home’s assessed value making the property exemption
outweigh the income tax credit would drop considerably. Should school districts also opt in along with
the county and the towns, “then you’re really talking savings here,” the director said.
Enfield currently “opts out” of the “Solar/Wind/Farm Waste Energy Exemption,” found under Section
487 of the Real Property Tax Law. Because Enfield chose years ago to “opt out” of this exemption, any
Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) Agreement for solar or wind farms must be negotiated by the Tompkins
County Industrial Development Agency, not the Town. Enfield’s Town Board has discussed whether it
remains best to be an “Opt Out” municipality. Franklin’s written narrative described the exemption this
way: “There are a lot of bad exemption statutes, but this one takes the lead. You are in the exemption
until you opt out.” Enfield, of course, has opted out.
Caroline Supervisor Mark Witmer said that on advice of counsel, his town may examine all the available
tax exemptions at one time and write a local law that consolidates into one document all of the various
exemptions his town chooses to permit its residents to access.
Building Code Enforcement: Darby Kiley of County Planning advised TCCOG that Tompkins County has
selected the LaBerge Group to conduct a study of potential consolidation of building code enforcement
functions, an opportunity that may hold interest for some municipalities more than for others. Kiley’s
asked all municipalities to complete and submit a survey addressing code enforcement challenges. Kiley
said her plans call for convening in-person roundtable sessions in about a month to address, in her
words, “workflows, needs, barriers, and opportunities for collaboration.”
“We really want these studies to meet your needs as a municipality, Kiley told TCCOG. What are your
challenges in code enforcement, and what do you see as opportunities,” she asked. “We do not have a
predetermined outcome for this,” she stressed. Based on member comments last week from the Enfield
Planning Board, some in Enfield governance may prefer County Government to remain as distant as
possible from involvement in local code enforcement.
TCCOG’s next meeting is March 23.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Lynch
Councilperson
Enfield TCCOG Representative