Office Information

Town Assessor

Assessor’s Aide

Tel: (607) 562–8443 x210
Fax: (607) 562–7063
Monday-Friday 9:00am to 1:00pm

The assessor, William R. “Bill” Torp, has spent his entire working career in various aspects of the real estate and construction industries. Mr. Torp is a New York State certified Professional Assessor and has been a member of the Institute of Assessing Officers (IAO) since 1996. He is also a NYS certified appraiser. He has had his own construction company and worked as a site manager for a large metropolitan property management company before entering the assessment profession. Bill is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois State University (BA) and Dartmouth College (MA).

Mission Statement

The Assessor’s Office of the Town of Big Flats is responsible for the valuation of all of the property within the town. These values are converted into estimates of property value, assessments, that are used in the computation of real property tax bills. This office is charged with maintaining property record files on 3,600 individual parcels as well as preparing assessment and property tax levy rolls for the town, Chemung County, and four school districts (Horseheads, Corning City Schools, Elmira Heights, and Elmira City Schools). This office also administers a wide program of property tax exemptions for the benefit of town residents and business owners.

It is the goal of the Assessor’s Office to maintain the highest standards of assessment practice and to provide the town’s property owners with accurate and fair assessments. Property record collection standards are being upgraded to Uniform Standards for Professional Practice (USPAP) requirements. In so doing, much of the mystery and confusion surrounding assessments and their associated taxes should be diminished. Assessment practice should be transparent and this office will do everything possible to educate and assist our property-owning public. If you have any questions, please consult the links below or call our office.

Exemptions

The Assessor’s Office administers and provides customer assistance in obtaining the following exemptions:

• Agricultural Land and Buildings
• Charitable (ie Church and non-profit organizations)
• Disability
• Basic and Senior Star Exemptions
• Senior Citizen
• Veterans.

The window of opportunity for any exemption application is from the first of December to the first of March of the following year. All exemptions must be applied for. They are not automatically granted by the Assessor’s Office. The absolute deadline for all applications is the first of March. Applications received after this date will not be processed. Specific details for all exemptions and applications can be found on the website for the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS).

The most common exemptions are:

YOU MUST APPLY TO RECEIVE THESE EXEMPTIONS.

FOR AN APPLICATION, VISIT THE OFFICE OF REAL PROPERTY SERVICES (ORPS) ONLINE OR CONTACT THE ASSESSOR’S OFFICE AT (607) 562–8443 x210

Complaints About Your Assessment

It is the official policy of the Assessor’s Office of the Town of Big Flats to review any written complaint about assessments. It is our goal to minimize the adversarial nature of filing a complaint on the value of real property.

Please remember, any complaint must be limited to the value of real property. Tax rates and tax bill totals are not determined by the Assessor’s Office. Complaints about the amount of taxes paid are not allowed to be considered under New York State Real Property Tax Law.

If you are considering filing an assessment complaint with the Assessor’s Office the following information should be provided: recent sales data, real estate listings for the subject or similar properties, recent appraisals or refinance documents, surveys, and/or closing statements. “Comparative Market Analysis Forms” or “opinions of value” from realtors do not meet federal appraisal standards and will not be considered.

A “Request for Assessment Review” form is available at the Assessor’s Office. Such requests should be filed on or before the first of March. If you have any questions about this process, please call the office at (607) 562–8443 x210.

If the Assessor’s Office denies your review, or if you are not satisfied with the new assessment, New York State Real Property Tax Law provides the property owner with the opportunity to file a grievance with the town’s Board of Assessment Review. Grievance Day in the Town of Big Flats is the fourth Tuesday in May. Forms and information are available at the Assessor’s Office or on the web. It is our policy to offer the property owner all reasonable assistance in preparing a “Grievance” for submission to the Board of Review. Please remember, our primary goal is accurate assessments for all residents.

Board of Assessment Review

Members of the Board serve from October 1 to September 30.

• Theodore Dangelmaier (10)
• David Fiorini (12)
• Jane King (14)
• G. James Piazza (13)
• Thomas Rogan (11)

Critical Dates

The following dates are important to the property owner:

• January: County and Town Taxes are due by the end of the month.
• January/February: All exemption applications and/or renewals must be filed with the Assessor’s Office. Request for Assessment Review should also be filed at this time.
• March 1st: “Taxable Status Date” The last day to apply for exemptions and assessment review.
• April 1st: The tentative Assessment Roll is completed.
• 4th Tuesday in May: Grievance Day
• July 1st: The final Assessment Roll is completed.
• September: Taxes payable for the Horseheads and Elmira Heights School Districts.
• October: Taxes payable for the Corning and Elmira City School Districts.

How to read and understand your County & Town tax bill

Use our guide to help you understand and read your annual tax bill

Big Flats Tax Rates & Tax Rate History

The following charts not only contain the most recent school, town and county tax rates, they have all the rates back to the 1996/97 fiscal year. “Consolidated” rates are the total tax rates for either the Town & County or the Town, County and school tax bills combined. To estimate the potential property tax liability, exclusive of exemptions and any special district charges, for any property in the Town of Big Flats the math is as follows:

Assessed value in number of $1000 x the consolidated tax rate for a specific school district.

Example: A home is assessed @ $100,000 in the Horseheads School District:

100 x $31.40 = $3,140.00

Although tax rates are increasing the rate of increase over the years has not only been moderate, it has closely followed the increases reported by the Consumer Price Index. The Town of Big Flats’ Annual Reassessment Program was initiated, in part, not only to maintain an accurate and equitable assessment roll, but to also protect the community from Equalization Rate fluctuations that can dramatically drive up tax bills.

More Information

Click on the following links for valuable information for property owners: