Friday, August 7, 2020

Benson authorizes property reassessment

Benson TB July 21 2020

Benson authorizes property reassessment
By PETE KLEIN
BENSON—When the Benson Town Board met on July 21, it passed the following resolution: AUTHORIZATION FOR REASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY
WHEREAS, Mr. Barry Baker, Director of Real Property Services for Hamilton County has met twice with the Board and citizens of Benson, and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jim Abbott, Assessor for the Town of Benson has also met with the Board and the public, and
WHEREAS, C.A.P. reassessment for 2020 has been reduced from 93% to 85% for fiscal year 2020, which will mean an increase in school tax for Benson citizens this year and going forward, and
WHEREAS, the 85% will continue to be lower each year until we agree to an equalization rate of 100%, causing the school taxes to increase, and
WHEREAS, the Town of Benson, the Town of Hope, and the Town of Wells are all joined in a C.A.P., requiring all three Towns to agree to reassessment, otherwise there can be no reassessment, and
WHEREAS, if the three Towns decided to end the C.A.P. by resolution, they would be required to pay back several thousands of dollars, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED,  that the Town Board of Benson deems it to be of benefit to the taxpayers of Benson to do a reassessment of property values in Benson, with the understanding that if the other two Towns do not pass a resolution for reassessment, there will be no further action taken, and be it further
RESOLVED, if the Town of Hope and the Town of Wells do pass resolutions for reassessment, a much more formal resolution will be required for all the Towns, based on meeting the legal requirements. At this time, Mr. Baker has advised us that we should not expect a reassessment until 2021 at best.  After the reassessment, if any one of the three Towns opts out of the 100% equalization rate assessments, all three Towns will remain at whatever the C.A.P. equalization rate is at that time.
The Motion carried.
OTHER RESOLUTIONS
AUTHORIZING SUPERVISOR/CFO TO SIGN BROKER’S LETTER OF RECORD
WHEREAS, the Town of Benson Board has determined that it is in the best interest of the Town to include the MVP Health Insurance Plan under the umbrella of our primary insurance agency, the NBT Insurance Agency, and
WHEREAS, the present Broker is the Burnham Benefit Advisors of Lake Placid, N.Y., and
WHEREAS, there will be no change in expense or benefits with the MVP Health Insurance plan as this is strictly a change in the Broker, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Supervisor/CFO is authorized to sign the Broker’s Letter of Record Group #413634 naming Margaret Booth, MEDICARE AGENT on behalf of NBT Insurance Agency as our exclusive Insurance Broker with respect to our Medicare Advantage Health Insurance Plan, and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Town wishes to acknowledge the excellent services provided by Burnham Benefit Advisors over many years, and that this change of Broker is being made by the Town of Benson in order to consolidate all our insurance needs with the NBT Insurance Agency. This consolidation will provide the Town with continued value-added service from the NBT Insurance Agency.
Motion carried.
TOWN HALL GENERATOR INSTALLATION
Motion was made to postpone installation of a Town Hall automatic generator system. Quotes were received from Rich Services, Amsterdam, in the amount of $7,650 and from North Country Electrical, Caroga Lake, in the amount of $7,200. An additional quote was received from J&R ELDREDGE of Lake Pleasant for two 100-gallon propane tanks for approximately $1,500. In addition, an eyebrow roof snow deflector would be required to be built bringing the total cost of the project to over $10,000. In this time of fiscal uncertainty prudence dictates that only the most critical expenditures be made.
REPAIRING THE TOWN HALL MASONRY CHIMNEY
The board accepted a quote from Darby Jensen to repair the Benson Town. Hall masonry chimney from the roofline up. The resolution authorizing the purchase was not to exceed the sum of $800.
Motion carried
The board also authorized the paving of North Road in 2020 and purchasing a town laptop computer for the Benson Supervisor.
The board also authorized purchasing additional street signs at a cost not to exceed $1,500.
THE HIGHWAY/TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE (Charles Biche, Tad Davis) reported Most street signs are up and the Jersey Barriers are coming.
The Legal Committee (John Stortecky and Dave Rogers) reported they are Compiling questions for Town Attorney, Heidi Gifford.
The Cemetery Committee (David Pincombe, Tad Davis, George Blowers, and Jeanne Cox) reported Flags set on Kern and Royem plots for George Blowers to set markers.
THE FINANCE COMMITTEE (David Pincombe and John Stortecky) reported the Town is in good financial health at this time.

This article is based upon minutes provided by Town Clerk Jeanne Cox

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