Town Assessors

Earl H. Dabb - Chairman
Kandace Wittmeyer - NYS Advanced Certified Assessor
John Prell - Assessor

Open to the Public: Tuesday Evenings from 7 to 9 pm
Phone: 716-652-5497

Description of Duties of the Assessor

The assessor is the official who estimates the value of real property within the town’s boundaries. This value is converted into an assessment, which is one component in the computation of real property tax bills.

The assessor maintains the assessment roll – the document that contains every property’s assessment. To do this, the physical description, or inventory and value estimate of every parcel of real estate in the municipality is kept up-to-date. The property inventory is available for inspection by appointment before the filing of the tentative assessment roll.

The assessment roll shows assessments and appropriate exemptions. Every year the roll, with preliminary, or tentative, assessments is made available for public inspection. After the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) has acted on assessment complaints and ordered any changes, the tentative roll is made final.

What Kind of Property is Assessed?

All real property, commonly known as real estate, is assessed. Real property is defined as land and any permanent structures attached to it. Some examples of real property are houses, gas stations, office buildings, vacant land, shopping centers, apartment buildings, and restaurants.

How is Real Property Assessed?

Before assessing any parcel of property, the assessor estimates its market value. Market value is how much a property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. To estimate market values, the assessor must be familiar with all aspects of the local real estate market.

A property’s value can be estimated in three different ways:

1. Market approach – the property is compared to others similar to it that have sold recently, using only sales where the buyer and seller both acted without undue pressure.



2. Cost approach – calculate what the property would cost, using today’s labor and material prices, to replace the structure with a similar one. This method is used to value special purposes and utility properties.



3. Income approach – analyze how much income a property, like an apartment building, a store or factory, will produce if rented. Operating expenses, insurance, maintenance costs, financing terms, and how much money owners expect to make on this type of property are considered.

Once the assessor estimates the market value of a property, its assessment is calculated. New York State law provides that all property within a municipality be assessed at a uniform percentage of market value. Everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes as long as every property in a locality is assessed at the same percentage of value.

Who Do I Contact With My Questions?

The assessor is continually communicating with the public, answering questions, and dealing with concerns raised by taxpayers. Anyone can examine the assessment roll and property records at any time.

It is up to individual property owners to monitor their own assessments. Taxpayers who feel they are not being fairly assessed should meet with the assessor before the tentative assessment roll is established. In an informal setting the assessor can explain how the assessment was determined and rationale behind it.

Assessors are interested only in fairly assessing property in their assessing unit. If your assessment is correct and your tax bill still seems too high, the assessor cannot change that. Complaints to the assessor must be about how property is assessed.

Informal meetings with assessors to resolve assessment questions about the next assessment roll can take place throughout the year. If after speaking to your assessor you still feel you are unfairly assessed, ask for the booklet, How to File a Complaint on your Assessment. It describes how to prepare and file a complaint with the Board of Assessment Review for an assessment reduction and indicates the time of year it can be done. To learn more about the assessment process, please call the assessor at 716-652-5497 or send a fax to 716-652-2541.

The brochures listed in the right side Services menu are easy to understand and very informative brochures published by the NYS Board of Equalization and Assessment. They are also available at the NYS Office of Real Property Services website and the Town Assessors Office.

Additionally, the NYS Assessors Associations publishes a pamphlet titled, Understanding Assessments and Property Taxes, which is also available in the assessors office.