Ulster County Property Taxes On the Rise

  |  January 11, 2012

Has anyone been following the story about the New York State Property Tax Cap? As far as I understand it, Cuomo ushered through some legislation late last year that caps the increase in property taxes at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Sounds good, right? Here’s the catch: municipalities can vote out the cap (which doesn’t apply to NYC, by the way). “Communities may raise or lower property taxes according to the needs of the community. If the taxpayers want to pay more taxes they can, and they can override the cap with a 60 percent vote for schools and by a 60 percent vote of the governing body for local governments.”

In Ulster County, all but two municipalities opted out of the cap, according to the Daily Freeman. Here’s the skinny:

“According to the  Real Property Tax Service Agency, 2012 county tax rates per $1,000 of assessed property value will be as follows.

• Denning: $23.34, up 8.4 percent from $21.53 in 2011.
• Esopus: $4.25, up 8.4 percent from $3.92.
• Gardiner: $4.85 per $1,000, up 2.3 percent from $4.74.
• Hardenburgh: $6.39, up 8.3 percent from $5.90.
• Hurley: $4.02, up 0.5 percent from $4.
• Kingston (town): $4.69, up 1.5 percent from $4.62.
• Kingston (city): $4.24, up 8.4 percent from $3.91.
• Lloyd: $4.24, up 8.4 percent from $3.91.
• Marbletown: $3.95, up 1.3 percent from $3.90.
• Marlborough: $4.27, up 8.4 percent from $3.94.
• New Paltz: $4.23, up 8.5 percent from $3.90.
• Olive: $4.21, up 8.5 percent from $3.88.
• Plattekill: $4.27, down 0.6 percent from $4.30.
• Rochester: $4.23, up 4.2 percent from $4.06.
• Rosendale: $4.25, up 8.4 percent from $3.92.
• Saugerties: $4.27, up 8.7 percent from $3.93.
• Shandaken: $18.30, up 8.3 percent from $16.89.
• Shawangunk: $21.35, up 3 percent from $20.72.
• Ulster: $5.24, down 0.2 percent from $5.25.
• Wawarsing: $257.92, up 8.3 percent from $238.05.
• Woodstock: $4.43, up 3.7 percent from $4.27.

That means that for lower taxes, head to Plattekill or the town of Ulster. Upstater will check those towns out soon!

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