“The Town of Wellsville Town Board has made attempts to answer questions and address the concerns of our constituents”
By Shad Alsworth, Town of Wellsville Supervisor
As the Town of Wellsville Supervisor I felt it necessary to directly address the residents of the Town of Wellsville to answer some of the questions and concerns that continue to be raised about the Revaluation Project in the Town of Wellsville. For those readers in neighboring Townships, this may also prove to be a helpful and informative read as you have already experienced a Revaluation of Assessment in your Township (or will have within the next year or two) and may not understand the process or the implications of these projects. I will outline some key information that is often misunderstood.
We must begin by clarifying that the directive from The Town Board to the Assessor is that all assessment valuations be as accurate and as fair as possible. This ensures that tax levies are fairly distributed based on the current values of all properties in our Township. Those who are “undervalued” receive an unfair advantage in tax levy savings at the expense of everyone else who pays property tax in the Township. Those who are “overvalued” pay an unfair portion of the tax levy burden. Our goal is to do whatever possible to fairly assess all properties in our Township to eliminate these discrepancies.
The Town of Wellsville Assessor has worked diligently to attempt to meet this directive. The reality is that the directive is not possible to achieve without further data and input from property owners who fall outside of the normal parameters of the data collected. There are properties that don’t perfectly “fit” the models used to determine valuation. This is the case for every Revaluation Project in every Township in the State of New York. This is not because of inadequacies of those Assessors, but because of countless factors ranging from State Agency regulatory “oversight”, unknown property conditions due to inability to access properties, unknown conditions of internal structure improvements or degradation, and a host of other factors. Because of this known shortcoming, State Laws that govern the execution of these Revaluation of Assessment projects have put into place a process to address these discrepancies. This is commonly known as the “Grievance” process. This “grievance” process is available to every property owner annually and is not limited to only the revaluation process.
For property owners who feel the need to execute their “grievance” rights, there are a few key factors to understand so that accurate and fair valuations can be determined.
- Inability to pay tax burdens are not part of the grievance process. There are opportunities available for landowners that provide exemptions for portions of their tax levies based on age of the resident, military service, disabilities, agricultural use, etc. that can be applied for. These records are maintained by the Assessor and often require annual verification.
- Property sales are a key component of determining assessment valuations. This data has been collected and used for the Revaluation of Assessment Project.
- Data collection of age, condition, square footage, etc. of structures and improvements on property are limited based on “access” to property. Additional data provided by property owners that is provided to the Assessor and/or the Grievance Board are crucial in determining the most appropriate valuation of property. Come prepared to provide that data (pictures, etc.).
- Comparable sales and valuations for “like” properties provides more data that can be useful when determining valuations. Come prepared to provide data that is collected from properties in the Town of Wellsville. In many cases data collected from properties within a “neighborhood” is even more useful.
The first opportunity for “grievance” comes in the form of a “sit-down” meeting with the local assessor. More than 500 property owners in the Town of Wellsville have already taken advantage of this opportunity.
The second opportunity for “grievance” is executed by the Grievance Board for the Town of Wellsville. This opportunity is on June 3, 2025 at the Town of Wellsville Airport facility. The town Assessor has requested that grievances be filed with his office by May 27th so they can be reviewed prior to Grievance. This provides the Assessor the opportunity to satisfy those requests that have adequate supporting data prior to Grievance.
All persons filing a grievance must attend the June 3rd Grievance Meeting held from 4:00pm-8:00pm. Those attending will be required to sign in and be heard on a first come, first served bases. All persons signing in for grievance by 8:00pm will be heard. If additional meeting times need to be held to accommodate all who have signed in by 8:00pm on June 3rd, those additional times and dates will be announced to accommodate those constituents.
For any property owner who feels they have additional claims at were not satisfied after meeting with the Grievance Board, the last opportunity for “grievance” requires action executed by the Court. This is a much more involved process that is complicated to explain and is based on a number of different factors. This process generally requires the assistance of legal counsel.
The Town of Wellsville Town Board has made attempts to answer questions and address the concerns of our constituents. This includes numerous personal phone calls, addressing questions at Town Board meetings, and the Town Supervisor attending the May 7, 2025 “585 Owners United” meeting held at the David A. Howe Library.
Social Media comments have provided a lot of misinformation and conspiracy theories about this Revaluation Project that undermine the integrity of this process and further divide constituents who simply need assistance navigating this process. I regret not addressing the public in this format sooner and apologize for that oversight. I thank the citizens of Wellsville that attended our Town Board Meeting in April and/or the meeting at the David A. Howe Library arranged by Mr. Green and Mr. Whitwood (www.585ownersunited.com). Every participant we interacted with was respectful and courteous. I am proud to represent all of you as Town Supervisor and was happy to see government transparency at work in Wellsville.
Participation from constituents is a key component of our system of government. Ridiculous lawsuits, unfounded accusations, social media trolls, and ignorant condemnation have no place in our community. We are all “Wellsville Proud”. Your Supervisor, your Town Board and your Assessor are all here to represent your interests. There are several opportunities that have been and will be provided to accommodate every property owner in the Town of Wellsville that feels the need to file a grievance. The Grievance Board will not be overwhelmed by constituents leading to a failure of our process as some have suggested. Every grievance properly signed in by 8:00pm June 3rd will be heard even if additional “Grievance” dates need to be announced.
We will continue to address questions and concerns that are presented and thank our constituents for their continued patience and support. We look forward to seeing more of you at our Town Board Meetings. For any person that needs to ask me a question directly, please feel free to reach out to our Town of Wellsville Town Clerk (585-593-1780) and she will put you in contact with me.
