Tax season is around the corner, but commercial property owners shouldn't hold their breath for lower property valuations, according to town officials. And even if they do get lower assessments, that does not translate into lower taxes.

Rye Town Supervisor Joseph Carvin said no matter how much property values drop, it doesn't necessarily mean the governing bodies will cut their budgets.

"There is a tax burden put on the people in the town of Rye and that tax burden won't change with [property values], the only thing that changes is the tax rate."

Taxes are continuing a year-over-year upward climb and many owners are feeling overburdened and are looking for some relief. According to Rye Town Receiver of Taxes Nicholas Mecca, senior citizens and those living on a fixed income are having a particularly hard time. 

"[Residents] keep saying they can't afford the taxes, if they keep going up they're going to have to sell their house. So there's a lot of unrest in the community," Mecca said.

That unrest has manifested itself in the form of 200 certiorari filings, court challenges by property owners who claim the town has incorrectly assessed their properties. The Rye Town council passed a resolution in January to push for changes in real property tax law, so it can quickly bring these cases to court and likely get them dismissed.

The town is also dealing with an increase in assessment grievances filed by residents, a jump from 500 grievances in 2008 to 800 grievances in 2009. The assessor's office is usually the target of most of this ire, said Rye Town Assessor Mitchell Markowitz.

"[Some] people just prefer to complain that everyone else's property value is dropping, which is true, but I need factual data to support a change," Markowitz said. "And it's a genuine public misperception [that lower property values equal lower taxes]."

Although he hasn't gotten much feedback about upcoming commercial assessments, Markowitz says generally, some people appreciate his office's work, while others feel the town is prying into their business.

"There are commercial property owners who feel that anything about the property is their personal business, and they're right; however we as a governmental entity are required to determine their value," he said. "We need to have accurate and current data to do the best job we can do in determining their market value."

The Town of Rye bears the responsibility of collecting taxes for the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook, three school districts, Westchester County and the town itself.

The governmental bodies for which the town is collecting those taxes have been supportive of the assessor's work. These entities control their own budgets, so the individual assessments can only have so much of an impact on how much taxes change.

"The town, which is the assessing unit, and the villages and the schools have been very honest," Markowitz said. "As long as we treat the public fairly, and as long as everyone believes we're doing the right thing for the right reasons, the jurisdictions that rely on the assessment rule seem satisfied that we're doing a proper and adequate job."