Town of Brookhaven, NY Article XIII Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief

[Added 12-3-2013 by L.L. No. 40-2013, effective 12-16-2013]

§ 65-47 Legislative intent.

The Town Board of the Town of Brookhaven determines that the effects of Superstorm Sandy to residents and properties within the Town of Brookhaven was devastating. The damage to improvements on property was significant and the Town Board is desirous of providing real property tax assessment relief, in accordance with the Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief Act,[1] to the victims of the storm for the 2012-13 tax year to ease the tax burden upon residents suffering from losses to their real property. Further, the Town Board of the Town of Brookhaven hereby elects the "Local Option" contained with the Act to provide assessment relief for real property damaged by at least 10% of improved value.

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 424 of the Laws of 2013.

§ 65-48 Assessor authority.

The Sole Assessor of the Town of Brookhaven is authorized to amend the Impacted Tax Roll, as defined in the New York State Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief Act, in accordance with the changes in assessment caused by damage from Superstorm Sandy, which caused storms, rains, winds or floods from October 29, 2012, through November 2, 2012, pursuant to and in accordance with the New York State Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief Act and the provisions contained within this article.

§ 65-49 Assessment relief.

A. Where property has lost at least 10% of its improved value due to Superstorm Sandy, the assessed value attributable to the improvements on the property on the impacted assessment roll shall be reduced by the appropriate percentage specified in Subsection B below, provided that any exemptions which the property may be receiving shall be adjusted as necessary to account for such reduction in the total assessed value. To the extent the total assessed value of the property originally appearing on such roll exceeds the amount to which it should be reduced pursuant to this article, the excess shall be considered an error in essential fact as defined by Subdivision 3 of § 550 of the Real Property Tax Law. If the error appears on a tax roll, the tax roll shall be corrected in the manner provided by § 554 of the Real Property Tax Law or a refund or credit of taxes shall be granted in the manner provided by § 556 or § 556-b of the Real Property Tax Law. If the error appears on a final assessment roll but not on a tax roll, such final assessment roll shall be corrected in the manner provided by § 553 of the Real Property Tax Law. The errors in essential fact found pursuant to the Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief Act on either the tax roll or final assessment roll, upon application to the County Director of Real Property Tax Services, shall be forwarded by the County Director of Real Property Tax Services immediately to the levying body for an immediate order setting forth the appropriate correction.

B. Assessment relief shall be in accordance with the following schedule:

	Percentage Loss of Improved Value	Percentage of Reduction In Assessed Value Attributable to Improvements
	At least 10% but less than 20%	15%
	At least 20% but less than 30%	25%
	At least 30% but less than 40%	35%
	At least 40% but less than 50%	45%
	At least 50% but less than 60%	55%
	At least 60% but less than 70%	65%
	At least 70% but less than 80%	75%
	At least 80% but less than 90%	85%
	At least 90% but less than 100%	95%
	100%	100%

§ 65-50 Application to Assessor; determination.

A. To receive such relief pursuant to this article, the property owner shall submit a written request to the Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor on a form approved by the Director of the Office of Real Property Tax Services no later than January 20, 2014. Such request shall attach any and all determinations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and any and all reports by an insurance adjuster, and describe in reasonable detail the damage caused to the property by Superstorm Sandy and the condition of the property following the Superstorm and shall be accompanied by supporting documentation, if available.

B. Upon receiving such a request, the Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor shall adopt the finding by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or, if such finding does not exist, the Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor or shall make a finding as to whether the property lost at least 10% of its improved value as a result of Superstorm Sandy, and thereafter the Assessor shall adopt or classify the percentage lost of improved value within one of the following ranges:

	Percentage Loss of Improved Value
	At least 10% but less than 20%
	At least 20% but less than 30%
	At least 30% but less than 40%
	At least 40% but less than 50%
	At least 50% but less than 60%
	At least 60% but less than 70%
	At least 70% but less than 80%
	At least 80% but less than 90%
	At least 80% but less than 90%
	100%

C. The Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor shall mail written notice of such finding to the property owner and the participating municipality. Where the Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor finds that the loss in improved value is less than 10% or classifies the loss within a lower range than the property owner believes is warranted, the property owner may file a complaint with the Board of Assessment Review. Such Board shall reconvene upon 10 days' written notice to the property owner and Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor to hear the appeal and determine the matter, and shall mail written notice of its determination to the Town of Brookhaven Sole Assessor and property owner. The provisions of Article 5 of the Real Property Tax Law shall govern the review process to the extent practicable. For the purpose of this article only, the applicant may commence, within 30 days of service of a written determination, a proceeding under Title 1 of Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law, or, if applicable, under Title 1-A of Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law. Sections 727 and 739 of the Real Property Tax Law shall not apply.

§ 65-51 Severability.

The invalidity of any article, section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or provision of this article shall not invalidate any other article, section, paragraph, clause, word or provision thereof.

§ 65-51.1 Reconstruction, alterations or improvement exemption.

[Added 10-29-2015 by L.L. No. 20-2015, effective 11-16-2015]

A. Exemption granted; conditions.

(1) An owner-occupied residential property that is the primary residence of the owner, reconstructed, altered, or improved due to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, within the Town of Brookhaven, shall be exempt from Town taxes to the extent provided hereinafter. After a public hearing, the Town Board may adopt a local law to grant the exemption authorized pursuant to this act. A copy of such local law shall be filed with the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance and the Assessor of such municipality who prepared the assessment roll on which the taxes of such municipality are levied.

(2) To be eligible for the tax exemption pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section, such primary residence shall have been owner-occupied by the same owner immediately prior to Superstorm Sandy and immediately after reconstruction with a certificate of occupancy, and shall have received assessment relief pursuant of Chapter 424 of the Laws of 2013 (Superstorm Sandy Relief Act).

(3) Such primary residence shall be exempt for a period of one year to the extent of 100% of the increase in assessed value thereof attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement and for an additional period of seven years subject to the following:

(a) The extent of such exemption shall be decreased by 12 1/2% of the "exemption base" each year during such additional period. The "exemption base" shall be the increase in assessed value as determined in the initial year of the term of the exemption, except as provided in Subsection A(3)(b).

(b) In any year in which a change in level of assessment of 15% or more is certified for a final assessment roll pursuant to the rules of the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, the exemption base shall be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total assessed value of the parcel on such final assessment roll (after accounting for any physical or quantity changes to the parcel since the immediately preceding assessment roll), and the denominator of which shall be the total assessed value of the parcel on the immediately preceding final assessment roll. The result shall be the new exemption base. The exemption shall thereupon be recomputed to take into account the new exemption base, notwithstanding the fact that the Assessor received certification of the change in level of assessment after the completion, verification and filing of the final assessment roll. In the event the Assessor does not have custody of the final assessment roll when such certification is received, the Assessor shall certify the recomputed exemption to the local officers having custody and control of the final assessment roll, and such local officers are hereby directed and authorized to enter the recomputed exemption certified by the Assessor on the final assessment roll. The Assessor shall give written notice of such recomputed exemption to the property owner, who may, if he or she believes that the exemption was recomputed incorrectly, apply for a correction in the manner provided by Title 3 of Article 5 of the Real Property Tax Law for the correction of clerical errors.

(c) Such exemption shall be applied to the difference in the pre-storm assessed value attributable to all the reconstruction, alterations or improvements due to Superstorm Sandy. For the purposes of this section, the market value of the reconstruction, alteration, or improvement shall be equal to the increased assessed value attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement divided by the most recently established state equalization rate or special equalization rate in the remainder of the state, except where the state equalization rate or special equalization rate equals or exceeds 95%, in which case the increase in assessed value attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement shall be deemed to equal the market value of such reconstruction, alteration or improvement.

(4) No such exemption shall be granted for reconstruction, alterations or improvements unless commenced due to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, and reflected on a certificate of occupancy dated no later than March 2018.

(5) Application for such exemption shall be filed with the Assessor by the first of March after the adoption of a local law pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section, or the first of March of any subsequent year thereafter but no later than the first of March 2018, on a form prescribed by either the Assessor or the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance.

(6) If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this act, the Assessor shall approve the application and such primary residence shall be exempt from taxation for up to eight prospective tax years as provided by this act. The assessed value of any exemption granted pursuant to this act shall be entered by the Assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.

(7) For the purpose of this act, a "primary residence" shall mean any building or structure designed and occupied exclusively for residential purposes by not more than three families, and occupied by the owner as a primary residence.

(8) In the event that a primary residence granted an exemption pursuant to this act ceases to be used as a primary residence of the owner, or the title thereto is transferred, the exemption granted pursuant to this act shall cease. However, the exemption granted pursuant to this act shall continue for the remaining exemption period for as long as an heir-at-law or distributee of such owner occupies the property as a primary residence.

(9) No such local law shall reduce or repeal an exemption granted pursuant to this section until the expiration of the period for which such exemption was granted.

B. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to exemption applications made prior to the first of March next succeeding the date on which this act shall have become a law and no later than the first of March 2018, and any exemption, once granted, shall continue for a period of up to eight prospective tax years as set forth in this act.