“Most people here understand the reassessment itself is part of how towns update values, and I don't think residents are arguing that values should stay frozen forever,” Miles Pitman, Rochester resident, said. “The concern is whether these new numbers truly reflect where the market is now, especially after what this town has experienced over the last few years during the pandemic. Let's face it, the town became a boom town for real estate.”

At the March 12 Rochester town board business meeting, the Rochester revaluation was the main subject. Erin Enouen, Rochester town supervisor, gave a brief summary reiterating what the revaluation was and what power the town had over potential tax increases.

The purpose of the revaluation is to ensure all property is accurately assessed to current market value. Enouen said the town board cannot set, change or interfere with individual property assessments or change assessments of anyone present at the meeting. Enouen also said that the revaluation itself is not a tax increase, and any changes in taxes depend on how an individual assessment compares to the town average and future budget decisions.

Many residents expressed frustration and concern over what they said were inaccurate assessments and challenges correcting those assessments, starting with Rochester’s decision to use GAR Associates, who are rumored to be subject to a class-action lawsuit – a rumor Enouen said came with no evidence. But this did not ease tensions at the meeting. Town representatives had to stop several outbursts from residents while the board spoke.

One speaker, Clayton Hogan, said that the process has not been “fair and equitable” to many residents, especially to those who may not have all of the information about the process.

“I've listened to people with fixed incomes, elderly, lifelong residents, some of which established the town laws that we currently have,” Hogan said. “They're telling me 400 percent, 800 percent proposed increases. If that doesn't make your heart stop, I don't know what will. I mean, that's beyond ridiculous. And this, I feel, is all because we failed to get in front of this 100% assessment.”

Hogan asked if anyone questioned GAR Associates’ proprietary algorithms they used to calculate potential property value increases, and if it concerned age and condition of people’s homes, or factors such as location, terrain and public services. He said that he and other residents do not know how to find comparable evaluations and that navigating GAR Associates’ website was “almost impossible.”

He also asked how they can help residents who may not have the ability to do the research themselves. Hogan said he did not receive a letter regarding his revaluation and had to file with GAR Associates for it. When he did, Hogan said, it reflected a Google Earth view stating he owned a Quonset hut. This was a temporary greenhouse, Hogan said, He said he’s concerned the revaluation would lead to “rural gentrification” and push out residents who would no longer be able to afford property taxes.

Many residents felt their initial reassessments were inaccurate and reflected a growing divide between longtime residents and new, wealthy arrivals post-COVID-19. L. Kelly Johnson said that she found the letter given about the reassessment in October “exceptionally frustrating,” as she was not familiar with all of the information as she inherited the property from her parents. Johnson said she lives at the top of a mountain and does not get services from the town, including water and garbage pickup.

Johnson said her home was listed as a single-family residence despite being a mobile home, noting “nobody’s getting a freaking mortgage on a 40-year-old mobile home.” Her property value went from $120,000 to $470,000 despite being located near wetlands that cannot be built on.

“I'm just annoyed because I don't understand how this is full market value when GAR did not do their homework and when all you did was fly over my house that you couldn't tell was a mobile home,” Johnson said. “I don't understand how GAR gets away with something like that without doing their homework. But now I'm expected to jump through the hoops to do my homework and everybody else here has to jump through these hoops.”

Residents who felt their assessment was inaccurate were directed to contact GAR Associates and fill out an informal review application by March 31. However, many residents were unsatisfied with the process and expressed difficulties communicating with GAR Associates.

One resident, Tina Russell, said that she was listed as a resident of Kerhonkson despite living in Accord, and her property was inaccurately listed as a multi-family residence. Russell went on GAR Associates’ website to correct the mistake.

“Well, I'm going to tell you this. If you don't have all your documents and you don't have all your comps and your site evaluation and whatever thing you need to prove what your house really is, do not start the process,” Russell said. “There is no submit button on the GAR website. The minute you start typing in your address, your name, it's already automatically submitting it to GAR. And once that happens, you cannot go back in to upload documents. So I was frazzled.”

Russell said she then called GAR Associates, and was met with work-from-home employees, who she described as having children screaming and dogs barking in the background. She said none of the four people she spoke to were able to help her, and that one employee told her to logout and restart, but could not restart her claim because documents were already pushed through.

Russell’s property was reassessed at $789,000, which she felt was inaccurate and would lead to taxes she could not afford. Her house, Russell said, has two porches collapsing and needs new doors. She went to Jeremy Baracca, the assessor for Rochester, who compared it to Cape Cods in the area, despite Russell’s house not being a Cape Cod. After Baracca saw the house, he said it was a ranch.

“A lot of these houses, they're not even full-time residents that they're comparing us to. They’re Airbnbs, third homes, second homes. It's just a holiday house,” Russell said.

Some residents, such as Barbara Fornal, had a different perspective. She said that her house went to $479,000 and did not think it was enough because the houses around her were million-dollar homes. She said that her taxes were low and her neighbors were lowered.

“Why? Because that pie that the supervisor showed in the beginning, I was paying for the people who weren’t paying their fair share. So now the pie has to be equal,” Fornal said. “This is a state process. Everybody’s pointing the finger at the town board. Go to Albany. All of you.”

Fornal said that she empathizes with the concerns of other residents, as herself and other members of her family were taxed out of previous places they lived in. She said there are people here “off the books” who have not paid taxes. Other residents at the meeting interrupted her while she spoke, and Enouen had to intervene.

Other residents, such as one speaker who introduced himself as Paulo, asked what the solutions would be. Others who spoke at the public hearing suggested the board stop paying GAR Associates or to “fire them.” One even said that residents of the town may consider legal action.

“It’s obvious [the assessment is] flawed. The calculations are off. Almost everybody's numbers are off. So, if it's not working, what happens now?” Paulo said. “Do we make a stop to it? Have you actually listened to what the people have said? Do you take it to heart?”

Enouen thanked members of the public for speaking, and said there was “a lot that the board needs to consider and look into” and said she would go to the assessor’s office the following day. She encouraged residents to reach out to her with any questions or concerns, including senior citizens who may struggle navigating technology.

Board member Michael Coleman said that he would review the contract with GAR, though he was unsure what actions the board could take.

“If it is possible to re-look at something, if it is possible to get more information from GAR, I would be more than happy to work with the board, with members of the community to figure that out,” Coleman said. “I do think it's important that this is done correctly. I know this is horribly technical and it's very confusing how taxes work. I was trying to figure out the equalization rate stuff for hours and it's still confusing to me.”