Bee Editorial
Seven months, 43,000 parcels, zero dollars - do the math
Atotal of $375,000 was cut from the Town of Amherst Assessment Department for 2007, which cancelled the total assessment program that for the past seven years warranted an annual grant of $211,000 from New York State.

Now, Assessor Harry Williams is estimating it will cost $400,000 to $500,000 to bring the town to the level needed to rejoin the 100 percent assessment program. Note: that is without the $211,000.

So much for the cost savings Supervisor Satish Mohan wanted.

Mohan does not know more about assessments than the town assessor's office. Now the town is facing a rapidly approaching deadline that seems to be unattainable.

It appears the supervisor cut from a program without knowing the consequences, because if he did, the reassessment of properties would have begun on Jan. 1. Now, at the beginning of April, the town has 43,000 parcels that need reassessing. The last thing the town needs is for assessments to be done in haste, because taxpayers may be more likely to challenge them.

Williams couldn't have been more clear during the 2007 budget process that Mohan's proposal to cancel the 100 percent assessment program meant problems for the town, and on many levels - for veterans, STAR exemption recipients and school taxes.

Mohan has yet to propose any changes to the assessor's department or to save any money, which were his reasons for removing funding.

He thinks he can find a consultant to do the project for $211,000 in less than eight months. Reports show that GAR Associates, the longtime consultant to the town was charging $20 per parcel. Mohan needs to find someone willing to assess 43,000 parcels at $5 each.

If Mohan can't fix this problem, he will have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do. He promised residents cost savings and a revamped assessor's department. Well, his back is against a wall and he needs a cheap - but skilled - consultant to get him out of the situation he has created.

On Monday, he called out the Town Board members for not supporting a resolution to save $700,000 a year on retiree health care costs, saying they would have to answer to taxpayers.

Well, Supervisor Mohan, take a look at what you plan to do with the assessments, and can you say honestly that you can fix this problem? There are 43,000 property owners that will be waiting to see the results, so the plan better be something of genius.