Dec. 17, 2008

The owners of an “average”-assessed home in Westchester’s largest city, Yonkers, will see their county taxes go up $5 next year, according to data released today from the Westchester County Tax Commission based on equalization rates from the state. To understand how county taxes breakdown, watch this short animation.

The Tax Commission computed the effect of the 1.77 percent increase in the county property tax levy on the “average” home in each of the county’s cities and towns. So for Yonkers, the $5 increase is based on a home assessed at $12,564. The market value of such a Yonkers home is about $579,000.

Estimated market values are included in the chart below for guidance only. The actual tax depends exclusively on the assessment of the property in the particular municipality. The true market value varies depending on the real estate market.

The commission made its estimates using 2008 assessment information provided by towns and cities and the latest equalization rates from the state based on a July 2007 valuation date.

Based on this, residents in Mount Vernon, Cortlandt, Scarsdale, Peekskill, Ossining and Yorktown will actually have their county government taxes reduced when tax bills are sent in the spring.

The listing below is for the “average” assessed home in each community. Every community assesses at a different percentage of full value; therefore estimated market values are included below for comparison purposes. Here are some examples:

• Mount Vernon: A home assessed at $10,876 would have a county tax reduction of $35
• Cortlandt: A home assessed at $7,385 would have a county tax reduction of $21
• Scarsdale: A home assessed at $25,510 would have a county tax reduction of $180
• Yorktown: A home assessed at $10,260 would have a county tax reduction of $27

County taxes vary from community to community due to different assessing practices and whether property values in a particular community have grown or fallen in comparison to the rest of the county.

Once the county levy is set (in this case 1.77 percent), the county government does not control how the taxes are passed on to local taxpayers. Rather, this is based on what the property is assessed for by the local government and the current state equalization rate, which is based on the relationship of sample assessments with sales or appraisals in a community.

Below is a chart of the projected tax changes, community by community, based on the latest equalization rates and the assessments in each community.

Note: For those communities where there is a tax increase, if the individual’s assessment is half of that listed, then the tax increase will be half. For those communities where there is a tax decrease, if the individual’s assessment is double what is listed then the tax decrease will be about double. Conversely, taxes could be higher for people depending on their actual assessment.

Community	Assessment	Tax Increase (or decrease)	Estimated Market Value
City of Mount Vernon	10,876	(35)	560,631
City of New Rochelle	17,616	54	719,028
City of Peekskill	9,125	(43)	346,953
City of Rye	29,044	197	1,650,253
City of White Plains	15,079	40	714,646
City of Yonkers	12,564	5	578,963
Town of Bedford	107,071	45	1,265,614
Town of Cortlandt	7,385	(21)	505,827
Town of Eastchester	12,397	108	891,871
Town of Greenburgh	19,183	22	726,627
Town of Harrison	19,879	112	1,370,947
Town of Lewisboro	64,739	90	741,565
Town of Mamaroneck	19,492	135	1,188,556
Town of Mount Kisco	83,910	41	664,893
Town of Mount Pleasant	9,709	70	746,857
Town of New Castle	191,394	71	1,186,572
Town of North Castle	23,955	228	1,345,796
Town of North Salem	71,439	114	838,490
Town of Ossining	26,571	(19)	610,837
Town of Pelham	899,125	129	899,125
Town of Pound Ridge	180,064	173	1,314,335
Town of Rye	689,534	17	689,534
Town of Scarsdale	25,510	(180)	1,614,526
Town of Somers	70,408	12	666,110
Town of Yorktown	10,260	(27)	520,790