Oswego’s Common Council rejected a resolution April 22 that would have refused the preliminary assessment roll performed by GAR Associates, terminated their contract and reinstated the prior year’s assessment roll.

The council voted to authorize a citywide property revaluation to be performed by GAR Associates, a Buffalo-based, real estate appraisal company, in June 2022.

Soon after residents received notice of their re-evaluations, many brought their concerns to the common council. One concerned, unnamed resident voiced this at a recent council meeting. The retired resident said, “The unreasonable assessment resulting in the unaffordable taxes will result in the loss of my property.”

“The current and prospective tenants are unwilling to pay the unreasonable rent I would have to charge to keep up with the tax increase,” they said. 

A petition was quickly developed among residents to fight the assessment roll provided by GAR and it collected over 1,000 signatures, demanding action.

The resolution was proposed by councilors John Gosek and Jessie Vanucchi following this outcry from city residents. It was also done under the impression that they had the right to reject the assessment roll provided by GAR.

In the same meeting, councilors voted to authorize the citywide property revaluation, they were told by Jennifer Torese, city assessor, that “we can always say we are not going to adopt this.”

Mayor Rob Corradino explained that the council had been misinformed by Torese, who had only been in office for approximately one year in June 2022. Corradino explained only the city assessor has the legal authority to reject the assessment roll performed by GAR. 

Gosek explained that due to this new revelation, he now believes that the council could have done more had they received legal counsel of their own, apart from the city attorney.

The informal review period provided to residents as an opportunity to appeal their assessment ended at the end of March. The city has now entered a formal review process.

Corradino encourages residents to take advantage of the appeal process if they have concerns about the accuracy of their assessment. He explained that only a small percentage of concerned residents took advantage of the informal review.

On the other hand, Gosek shared concerns about the accessibility of this appeal process. Gosek explained that many residents may not have the access or technology experience to navigate it.

He further explained his disappointment in the council stating, “People don’t trust the local city government anymore.”

Gosek added that he hopes to “regroup” and see what they can do to help before the final tax roll vote that is set to take place in June 2024.

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