A regular reader of this site suggested that before proceeding to this series’ conclusion, it might be useful to analyze the Hudson assessment numbers ward-by-ward. (Good suggestion, reader.)
Below are two tables which compare the 1999 Hudson final assessment roll with the current, tentative roll for 2010, ward-by-ward. These address only the City’s taxable parcels (i.e., not the publicly-owned and nonprofit parcels which don’t pay taxes). Some interpretation of these tables follows after the raw numbers:
NOTE: These tables can be enlarged by clicking on the image above. Also, if you are not sure which ward your property is in, there are maps at this link.
So what do these numbers tell us?
The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the +/- columns is that while everybody’s assessments have gone up over the past decade, some wards of the City have been increased substantially more than others.
Assessments in the 1st Ward (that’s the one closest to the train station) have been jacked way up compared to the 5th Ward (the one closest to the shopping strips in Greenport). This is true whether one looks at the percentages or the raw numbers. If you owned a brick house on Union or Allen Street in 1999, by 2010 your assessment had probably gone up about 360%, increasing by some $165,000. Meanwhile, your friend with a ranch house on one of the boulevards of the 5th had only gone up 96%, with a raise of about $68,000.
The 2nd and 4th Wards have similarly been spared, whereas the 3rd has risen a great deal like the 1st.
It has apparently been said by a few defenders of the Hudson “reval” that the 5th Ward has been “carrying the City” for a long time, and it was time for the other Wards to pay their fair share. But the analysis above reveals that back in 1999, the 5th Ward was only marginally higher-assessed, on a per parcel basis, than the rest of the City. If the various assessors over the past decade were aiming for parity, the numbers show that they’ve drastically overcompensated.
Without question, some houses are more valuable than others, and gaining value faster than others. But are some houses gaining value 10 or 12 times faster than others? Hardly.
Average differences among neighborhoods of $10-$20K ten years ago have now been magnified into differences of $100,000 or more. And this in many ways amounts to a form of social engineering. People are being punished for doing just what Hudson’s leaders ought to be supporting: saving and fixing up buildings which otherwise would have fallen off the tax rolls or become delinquent, or both. They are being forced to pay not just their fair share, but a portion of their neighbors’ share as well.
More conclusions on the way in Part VI...
