Westchester County Clerk

March 9, 2013

201 Fewer Cases Filed in Westchester Supreme Court in 2012

WHITE PLAINS, NY: Tax certiorari proceedings have finally stopped their steady incline according to figures released by the Office of the Westchester County Clerk on March 11, 2013. “These proceedings, known as ‘tax certs’, represent formal appeals of a commercial property tax assessment,” began Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni who accepts these filings in his capacity as Clerk of the Supreme Court. “As our local economy struggled, many businesses looked at this process as a way to take advantage of declining property values and to save money,” continued Idoni. Since taking office, Idoni has seen the number of tax certiorari proceedings commenced in Westchester County Supreme Court increase as follows:

Anyone can contest the assessed value of their property, but New York State law provides different routes depending on property types and occupancy. Individuals who live in a home they own can appeal their tax assessment through the Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) process which has a lower filing fee and an expedited path through the court system. Others must proceed through the tax certiorari route.

“A decline in 2012 tax certiorari proceedings will hopefully be welcome news to local municipalities and school districts faced with tight budgets and declining assessment rolls,” said Idoni. “However, as each certiorari has its own high or low price tag and timing of adjudication, it may still be a few years before the overall impact of the decline is felt”.

For more information, please visit WestchesterClerk.com or call (914)995-3070. The Office of the Westchester County Clerk is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in White Plains and is open Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.