511 - Assessment disclosure; notice and meetings.
§ 511. Assessment disclosure; notice and meetings. * 1. In the year of a revaluation or update of assessments, the assessor shall, and in any other year may, not later than sixty days prior to the date set by law for the filing of the tentative assessment roll, mail to each owner of real property therein, an assessment disclosure notice in the format provided in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section. However, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the governing board of the assessing unit, other than a special assessing unit or an approved assessing unit which has adopted the provisions of section nineteen hundred three of this chapter, such assessment disclosure notice shall include in lieu thereof the items specified in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section. * NB Effective until January 1, 2011 * 1. In the year of a revaluation or update of assessments, if the state equalization rate for the immediately preceding assessment roll was less than eighty-five, the assessor shall, and in any other year may, not later than sixty days prior to the date set by law for the filing of the tentative assessment roll, mail to each owner of real property therein, an assessment disclosure notice in the format provided in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section. However, pursuant to a resolution adopted by the governing board of the assessing unit, other than a special assessing unit or an approved assessing unit which has adopted the provisions of section nineteen hundred three of this chapter, such assessment disclosure notice shall include in lieu thereof the items specified in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section. * NB Effective January 1, 2011 2. (a) Tax dollar comparison. Such notice shall identify the parcel for which it has been mailed and shall include: (i) the parcel description; (ii) the final taxable assessment of the parcel for the previous year; (iii) the current preliminary taxable assessment of the parcel; (iv) as a minimum, the actual extension of city or town taxes for the prior year to a hypothetical extension of the same taxes against the preliminary determination of assessed value for the current year adjusted for changes in the condition of real property; (v) the difference between the actual and hypothetical extensions; and (vi) a statement advising the owner of real property that the net difference reflected in the statement does not represent the property's tax liability for any ensuing fiscal year. This notice shall contain a statement that tax liability may be affected by changes in (1) municipal budgets, (2) assessments of other real property prior to completion of the final assessment roll, and if school or county taxes, or both, are compared, (3) apportionment of relative municipal shares of county and school district levies. The notice shall also contain a statement that a publication containing procedures for contesting an assessment is available at the assessor's office and such other information as may be required by the state board. (b) Alternative disclosure notice. Such notice shall identify the parcel for which it has been mailed and shall include: (i) the parcel description; (ii) the final taxable assessment of the parcel for the previous year; (iii) the current preliminary taxable assessment of the parcel; and (iv) an estimate of how much the tax liability of the parcel would change if the preliminary taxable assessments should be implemented and if all other relevant factors should remain constant. Such estimate shall be calculated by subtracting the percentage change in the preliminary taxable assessment of the parcel from the percentage change in the preliminary total taxable assessments of the assessment roll as a whole, and dividing that result by the percentage change in the preliminary taxable assessment of the parcel and expressing theresult, whether positive or negative, either as a percentage, rounded to the nearest whole percentage, or specifying a range within which the percentage falls, provided that such range shall not exceed five percentage points. The notice shall further state that the estimated change in tax liability is only an estimate, and that the actual tax liability may ultimately be affected by changes in (1) municipal budgets, (2) assessments of other real property prior to completion of the final assessment roll, and (3) if school or county taxes, or both, are compared, apportionment of relative municipal shares of county and school district levies. In addition, the notice shall state: that the preliminary assessments for the assessing unit are subject to adjustment prior to the filing of the tentative assessment roll; and that a publication containing procedures for contesting an assessment is available at the assessor's office. 3. Subsequent to the mailing of the notice required by subdivision one of this section, the assessor and representatives of any independent contractors employed in the revaluation program, shall be available to provide explanations of the program, including consideration of objections or complaints of owners of real property within said assessing unit. 4. In any assessing unit subject to the provisions of this section, if the assessed value of any property on the tentative assessment roll is different from the preliminary determination of assessed value set forth on the assessment disclosure notice described in subdivision one of this section, the assessor, not later than ten days prior to the date set by law for the hearing of complaints by the board of assessment review, shall mail a notice to the owner of such property stating the preliminary determination of assessed valuation on the assessment disclosure notice and the assessment set forth on the tentative assessment roll, explaining the procedure to be followed in obtaining review of such assessment and setting forth the date or dates and times at which the board of assessment review will meet to hear complaints with respect to assessments. 5. Failure to mail either notice described in this section or failure of the owner to receive the same shall not prevent the levy, collection and enforcement of the payment of the taxes on such real property. 6. No separate notice shall be required to be mailed pursuant to this section for property subject to taxation pursuant to title two of this article provided the assessor complies with the notice provision of section five hundred forty-two of such title. 7. The state board shall promulgate rules and regulations to provide for the implementation of the provisions of this section. 8. Whenever an assessing unit has mailed assessment disclosure notices to each owner of real property therein pursuant to this section, that assessing unit is not required to mail notices pursuant to this section if it implements a reassessment at the same uniform percentage of value as the previous reassessment in either of the two years immediately succeeding that previous reassessment. * 9. A special assessing unit shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions of this section if it provides assessment disclosure notices to property owners in an alternative manner which includes, at a minimum, their tentative assessments, the market values upon which they were based, and the applicable level of assessment. * NB Effective January 1, 2011