An East Williston resident, Stephan Leccese, has renewed his criticism of the village’s property tax assessment system, saying it is inaccurate and adds to village expenses.
Leccese, a frequent critic of the Board of Trustees, has lived in the village for 15 years and is a finance executive who runs a home lending business that provides money to developers based on the value of their homes.
Through his business and general real estate interest, Leccese said, he has perfected his home evaluation methodology.
“I can say with confidence there’s not one house in our village that has the correct market value for tax purposes,” Leccese said in an interview. “Not one … and I just think that a system that produces that level of inaccuracy is not good for the residents.”
He has voiced his concern over the system to the village board in the past.
Efforts to reach Mayor David Tanner were unavailing.
The village and county have separate assessment processes.
The East Williston village taxes go toward village services, while the county taxes go toward county services, Leccese said.
The village began its own assessment process four years ago when it decided that the county was not doing the job effectively, Leccese said.
He said that of the approximately 800 homes in the village, none of the assessed values by the village align with the assessments by the county.
“In some cases the county is much lower, in some cases the village is much higher,” Leccese said. “You have two entities attributing market values for tax purposes … and coming up with vastly different conclusions.”
Each year the village looks at a small portion of the homes to reassess, he said.
The last two years the village has looked at about 60 homes or less, Leccese said. At that rate, it would take about 14 years to complete the cycle and update all of the property values, he said.
According to village Clerk Marie Hausner, the village assesses about 40 houses a year.
Leccese added that it costs the village money to do assessments.
“If it costs us more, and doesn’t have benefit to the residents, why are we choosing this?” Leccese said.
Leccese said the village has two options: fix the system or abandon it entirely.
Although Leccese said the county’s system is flawed, too, he said “given the reluctance or resistance of the board,” dropping the village system and relying on the county is the easier path.
In April Leccese wrote a letter to the trustees arguing that many homes in the village could be overtaxed because the village only adjusts the assessments of a few of them each year.
Tanner rejected Leccese’s analysis and questioned the data Leccese used.
Leccese said he is not speaking out based on frustration or spite, or to “try and make the board look foolish.”
“What I really am focused on is what’s the best outcome for all of the residents in our community,” Leccese said.
