Monthly Archives: March 2012

Webb: Jean Murdock assesses March property owner meetings

Latest phase of 2012 revaluation coming to close; Assessor’s office planning to file town’s tentative roll

Informal meetings that have been held for Town of Webb property owners to discuss their new 2012 assessments will be coming to a close on Saturday, March 31.

The meetings have allowed property owners to meet with a representative of the town’s appraisal firm, KLW Group, at the Park Avenue Building in Old Forge.

Property owners that met with KLW have tended to show an understanding of the broader assessment process, according to Town of Webb Assessor Jean Murdock.

“The questions we are receiving are generally specific to individual properties,” she said.

“People want to know how to go about locating other properties that may have similar assessed values,” she said. Continue reading

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Merging properties to save on taxes: When does it make sense?

Once property owners are satisfied that their assessment is correct and based on accurate data, they may want to figure ways to reduce that tax bill.

Assessor Murdock said one strategy she’s been asked about is that of merging adjacent properties into a single parcel. Will that reduce taxes? The short answer is yes, Murdock said.

“It depends on the properties, but generally when you have contiguous parcels that are individually described, you start with a higher value on each of those parcels,” she said.

“For instance, if you had two properties that were waterfront, each of those parcels would start out with a high value for the waterfront, then diminish as your footage increases.”

Merging the properties would change that assessment formula, she said. Continue reading

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Gov. Cuomo congratulates Inlet’s ‘One Square Mile of Hope’ committee

by Margie O’Hara

Aerial photo of Inlet’s One Square Mile of Hope on Fourth Lake. By Nancie Battaglia © 2011

When the Inlet One Square Mile of Hope Committee succeeded in breaking the Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Floating Raft, members of the Committee were jubilant. The year of organizational work was deemed to be worthwhile. However, since that time, the entire Committee has been astonished by the far-reaching impact of their accomplishment.

Among the most recent occurrences are a congratulatory letter from Governor Cuomo and the appearance of Nancie Battaglia’s photo of the event in National Geographic. In a letter to Connie Perry, event co-chair, from the Executive Chamber dated March 15th of this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo commented:

“I am delighted to congratulate you and the One Square Mile of Hope Committee on earning the Guinness World Records designation for the ‘World’s Largest Floating Raft.’” Continue reading

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Senator Seward says state’s budget agreement reflects upstate priorities

A state budget agreement was announced as being ready for passage this week in Albany, and State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I – Oneonta) immediately commented with satisfaction as to the document’s priorities and timeliness.

“[This] budget agreement sets New York on course to approve an on-time spending plan for a second consecutive year. [More importantly it] meets upstate needs, provides incentives for private sector job growth and closes a $3.5 billion budget gap without raising taxes,” Seward said. Continue reading

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Old Forge DMV adds more days

Herkimer County Clerk Sylvia M. Rowan has announced that the Old Forge DMV Satellite Office will be open additional days beginning the week of April 2nd.

The office will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. It will close for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

The office will be closed Good Friday, April 6th.

The Office is located at 183 Park Ave. and can be reached at (315) 369-3301.

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Onsite Wastewater Options: In-depth program coming to View on April 18

The Adirondack Research Consortium invites all to discuss Onsite Wastewater Options for Small Rural Communities in the Adirondacks at a program at View in Old Forge on Wednesday, April 18th. The program will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The training event will focus on the discussion of onsite wastewater treatment options to improve septic system performance and meet state and local regulatory requirements.

Advances in onsite wastewater treatment technologies provide communities with options for challenging sites that will provide for better treatment and more protection of public health and the environment.

Many Adirondack communities are faced with site limitations that prevent the use of a conventional septic system, or a community system that is old and needs to be upgraded.

Commercially available alternative onsite wastewater treatment technologies that can address the many shortfalls of conventional systems in challenging topographic areas will be among the subjects of discussion.

The program includes in-depth morning presentations and an afternoon field trip to visit installed systems.

Up-to-date event, program, and registration information can be found at Adirondack Research Consortium’s web page: www.adkresearch.org. Click on the “Specialty Conferences” tab.

The conference fee is $100, with continuing education credits available for engineers, planners, zoning enforcement officers, and government officials.

On-line registration is available with a credit card at: ADKresearch.org on the Specialty Conference tab.

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MAC finds its raffle winners

After a little investigative work by the MAC’s Safe Ride board, Dave and Kathy Schneeberger were found to be the winners of the St. Patrick’s Day 50/50 raffle to benefit the not-for-profit organization.

“We are thrilled. We just moved back to the area from Florida and it will help with our moving expenses,” Kathy said.

The couple received their winnings of $897.50 from MAC’s representative Gisele Kress, who said she and the board were very happy the winning ticket was claimed.

According to Kress, the couple wanted to donate a portion of their winnings back to MAC’s.

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