Skip to main content
Top

Annual Assessment Update

A Message from the Assessor 3/24/20:

2020 Assessment Update has been Canceled

As you know, the purpose of updating property assessments is to comply with the State’s mandate that properties be valued as equitably as possible with respect to actual market prices.

Just weeks ago my office completed its most recent periodic review of assessments. As required by law, these assessments were calculated to comply with market value as of July 2019. My staff then mailed updated assessment notices to all Pittsford homeowners whose assessments had changed. These were mailed just days before the COVID-19 coronavirus situation emerged.

In recent days I have been in frequent consultation with the State Department of Taxation and Finance, which oversees assessments statewide. I have also turned to financial experts on markets and the economy with whom I often consult in determining the status and direction of the real estate market.

My conclusion is that we cannot have confidence that the market conditions and factors as of July 2019, that drove and supported the recent re-evaluation of assessments before the COVID-19 era, will persist.

My office has continued informal assessment reviews without interruption, by phone and online. Although the formal appeals of assessment determinations is still scheduled for May 26, there is a possibility that the State could change this. If that happened in a year such as this when people received new assessments, they would not be able to formally appeal their new assessment. We should not expose our residents to that risk. Therefore I do not consider it advisable to continue on our present course in circumstances where the State may postpone or cancel the formal Grievance hearings.

In light of this new reality I am cancelling and rescinding the 2020 assessments that Pittsford property owners recently received in the mail. They are hereby cancelled.

I am monitoring the State’s guidance as we go forward.

Please note that no action is required by any resident who received a 2020 Assessment Notice, regardless of whether or not they have started or completed an informal review. Please continue to direct any questions from residents to my office at 248-6232.


FAQs - Assessment Update 2020 Cancellation

Does this mean that my property's assessed value will remain at the 2019 Assessed Value as Indicated on my original 2020 Assessment Notification?
  • Assessments will be rolled back to their 2019 level unless one or more of the following conditions exist, which would have changed the assessment regardless:
  • The tax parcel did not exist on the 2019 assessment roll
  • There has been new construction on a tax parcel that increased the market value of the tax parcel
  • Due to permits or inspections, the Town was notified of improvements made to an existing structure (i.e., deck, pool, finished basement, etc.) on a tax parcel, which increased the market value There was demolition of a structure that decreased the market value of the tax parcel
If you still have questions about your property assessment, please call the Assessment Office at (585) 248-6232.

Is the Informal valuation still due by April 3? If I already sent an informal valuation, what happens to it? If I did not submit an informal valuation yet, do I no longer have to submit any paperwork at all?
No action is required on your part at this time. With the 2020 Reassessment Update canceled, the informal valuation process is also canceled. The April 3 deadline is no longer in effect. If you have not yet submitted an informal valuation, but were planning to do so, no action is required on your part.
 
How will this impact my taxes?
Updating assessments themselves do not increase the amount of taxes that need to be collected by local governments. The assessment only ensures the taxes that you pay are distributed equitably based on your current market value. The total amount in taxes collected by the town (tax levy) is computed independently of assessments. The tax rate is determined by the amount of the tax levy.
 
Will my property be reassessed in the future?
New York State Law requires all properties to be assessed at a uniform percentage of market value. This means that all taxable properties in a city, town or village periodically must be assessed at market value or all at the same uniform percentage of market value.  The Town Assessor will continue to monitor the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the housing market and the economy, as they will be important factors in determining assessments.