Back in February, property owners in the Town of Owego got their new assessments from CLT, the company hired by the town to do a re-assessment of property. CLT held several meetings (like the one pictured above at the Tioga Hills School in Apalachin) to inform the taxpayers of the assessment process. The message did not get through since most people left before the meeting was over. 

 In February we got our assessments with an approximate tax value based on last year's taxes. This gave us an idea of what we would be paying with the new assessment.  Most of us with no change or with a lower tax did not contest the assessment. Anyone that contested the assessment - that was about 20% of the property owners - got their new lowered assessment in the main by May 3. Unfortunately on this assessment there was no approximate value as to what would be paid. 

 The town assessor could not give that information. She stated that she did not have the figures to do that, and we should base it on what we got in February. 

 The only problem with that is that the total property of the town that it was based on in February has now decreased, thus causing the tax rate to increase. And without knowing the total tax base from February it cannot be calculated.  Since about 20% of the town properties went down in value by about 10%, anyone who had no change in taxes in February will now see an increase.    
- F. Brown