An age-old adage claims that nothing is promised to anyone but death and taxes.  For the Town of Rye, even the latter isn't a guarantee.

As the town aggressively pursues tax delinquents and deals with a backlog of cases by owners challenging their property assessments, Supervisor Joseph Carvin had apparently reached his limit at Tuesday night's council meeting, telling fellow town officials that people were "stealing money from the community" by refusing to pay their fair share of taxes.

The town is currently dealing with 200 certiorari filings, court challenges by property owners who claim the town has incorrectly assessed their properties.

The council passed a resolution Tuesday to push for changes in real property tax law, so the town can quickly bring these cases to court and likely get them dismissed.

"We're going to be rigorous and aggressive in fighting these cert cases," Carvin said.

Under current law, these cases have to be resolved within four years. However, the town wants to change the law so that the cases receive a ruling in as quickly as  six to 42 months.

Carvin said 90% of owners who bring court challenges claim their property is only worth 10-20 percent of the town's assessment.

The town is currently dealing with 200 certiorari cases. Carvin said the town is sitting "with a dagger over its head" because of ongoing cert cases.

He urged municipalities to stop re-assessing properties unless there is a change in state law.

"Communities in Westchester don't reval because you're only going to get screwed by New York State," Carvin said.

The council also discussed how it would handle the $4.4 million in properties it has seized from tax delinquents.

Carvin asked if 10 cents for every dollar of assessed value was an acceptable amount the town should accept for the properties. Town Attorney Paul Noto said he thinks the town can get upwards of 25 cents on the dollar.

The town is considering selling the properties at auction, but is also weighing whether to hold on to the properties and manage them, effectively acting as a municipal landlord.

"We have to determine if we want to be in the business of owning and managing residential real estate," said council member David Gelfarb.

The council, which included newly-re-elected and sworn-in members—Deputy Supervisor William Villanova, council member Michele Mendicino and Town Clerk Hope Vespia—also breezed through a packed agenda filled with mostly ceremonial duties.

The council re-appointed Paul Noto as town attorney, designated Carvin, Vespia and the town's confidential secretary, Bishop Nowotnik, as marriage officers. It also passed resolutions to hold its regular monthly meetings the third Tuesday of the month and to establish a standard work week for appointed officials and council members.