Town of Rye Reduces Taxes by 19 Percent

While one municipality in Westchester considered raising taxes by more than 20 percent, the Town of Rye has moved in the exact opposite direction—reducing taxes by a whopping 19 percent in its 2010 budget.

The measure is particularly unusual because mortgage tax revenues in the town have fallen nearly 67 percent from three years ago.

The town issued a press release saying the tax reduction was possible because the town board has aggressively pursued tax delinquents, some of whom haven't paid in five or six years.

The town has even foreclosed on people who refused to pay, collecting more than $2 million in back taxes this year and seizing the title for more than $3.2 million in assessed property values.

Bishop Nowotnik, the town's director of purchasing and the "confidential secretary" to Supervisor Joseph Carvin, said Carvin has curtailed spending since taking office in 2007.

"We cut spending immediately by over $1 million in the first year," Nowotnik said.

Nowotnik said Carvin, who was unavailable for comment during the holidays, cut spending by getting rid of patronage jobs and reducing losses from the town's beach operations.

Nowotnik said the town increased its fund balance through pursuing delinquent taxes, which resulted in a tax reduction for the 99 percent of town residents who actually pay their tax bills on time.

"Had we not increased our fund balance utilization we would have probably been flat on taxes," he said.

The town of Rye is responsible for collecting taxes for three school districts and two municipalities in Port Chester and Rye Brook. The town has to guarantee tax collections or it becomes responsible for the shortfall.

Nowotnik said the economy can't be blamed for the tax delinquencies.

"These people were not paying their taxes," he said. "The town has an obligation to collect the taxes owed. We will continue our aggressive tax collection." 

The town has issued a request for proposals to property management companies in an effort to "maximize the value that the Town will receive for these properties," Nowotnik said.

The town has seized 14 properties and could own six more properties within the next few months.

The town is considering renting the properties, selling them piecemeal or auctioning them, Nowotnik said.