Reassessments come as Easter surprise
for some Ogden residents

The Easter weekend mail brought an unexpected surprise to some Ogden property owners -- reassessment notices. Ogden Assessor Robert Criddle said about 2,100 change notices were recently sent out, 700 to Spencerport village property owners and 1,400 to town real estate taxpayers.

The notices are part of the town’s annual property assessment equalization program, Criddle said, in which all assessments in the town are analyzed and several are chosen for review. "The overriding goal is to ensure assessment equity," Criddle said.

Recent real estate sales reflect increasing property values, the town assessor said, adding that the market has gone up substantially over the last three years.

Some people who contacted Suburban News last week regarding increases of $20,000 or more in their Ogden assessment noted they had made no structural changes, such as an addition, nor any cosmetic changes, such as new siding, since their last assessment, yet were hit with a big increase. Criddle said one criterion used for the review is comparison sales of neighborhood properties. In some cases, comparing assessments to sale prices reflected under assessment of property values. The town strives to assess property at 100 percent of market value, Criddle said.

Suburban News will have more concerning the reassessments in Ogden in next week’s edition (issue of April 25).