Town may give tax duties to Broome

KIRKWOOD -- Kirkwood may become the latest municipality to have its tax collection duties handled by Broome County. The town hasn&apost had its own tax collector since November when Mary Lou Clendening resigned the position, Kirkwood Supervisor Gordon Kniffen said. Broome County Real Property Tax Service handled tax collection for the town this year. Now the town is considering making the change permanent, Kniffen said. Full story...

Posted: May 31, 2007

Consolidation

Each week this adult panel voices its opinions on issues facing the Southern Tier.ConsolidationIn what areas should Greater Binghamton consider consolidation? 

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Guest Viewpoint: Unified assessment could help Greater Binghamton

Assessment in Greater Binghamton is a mess. All across Broome County, individual assessors preside over municipal fiefdoms and make decisions which affect property values, quality of life and economic vitality. And they are not doing a very good job. Statistics generated by the New York Office of Real Property Services (ORPS), which oversees local real property tax assessment, demonstrate that many of our assessors, especially those in the towns of Vestal and Union, are wildly inconsistent in their assessment practices, resulting in similarly situated property owners paying divergent county, town and school taxes, and eroding current and prospective taxpayers confidence in the entire system. Full story...

Posted: May 10, 2007