On August 21, the Niskayuna Board of Education adopted final tax rates for the 2006-2007 school year. For most Niskayuna Central School District residents, those rates are lower than the tax rate increase projected during the budget vote in May.
As a result of changes in assessed values and equalization rates, Niskayuna residents will see their tax rate increase 6.17 percent from $26.02 to $27.63 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value — which is lower than the 6.59 percent increase district officials had estimated in May. The STAR exemption, however, decreased from $24,440 to $23,220 due to a decline in the equalization rate for the Town of Niskayuna. Residents who had a basic STAR exemption in place over the last two years will have an additional tax increase from the prior year of approximately $34 as a result of this decline in the basic STAR exemption.
A Niskayuna resident who owns a home with a taxable assessed value of $140,000 will pay school taxes of $3,867.78, an increase of $224.63. If this homeowner applied for the basic STAR exemption ($23,220 in 2006-2007), the STAR reduction would lower the assessment from $140,000 to $116,780 and school taxes would be reduced $641.50 to $3,226.28 as a result.
Similar changes occurred in Colonie and Clifton Park. Colonie residents will see their tax rate increase 5.64% from $24.05 to $25.40, while Clifton Park residents will see a tax rate increase of 8.23%. The higher tax increase in Clifton Park is the result of new home construction and the addition of those new homes to the tax rolls. The newly constructed housing increases the amount of taxable assessed value in the town and requires more of the overall tax levy to be raised in that town.
The Town of Glenville completed a revaluation of all property values in the town. As a result, some homeowners will see their assessment increase; some will see a decrease and others will remain relatively unchanged. Overall, the assessor indicated that assessments across the town increased approximately 58 percent. The school tax rate has been adjusted to reflect the change in assessments. A homeowner in the Town of Glenville will see the tax rate decrease from $25.04 to $16.63 per $1,000 of assessed value. Given all of the aforementioned information, it is not possible to estimate what the tax implication will be for any given homeowner as it will vary by home. Homeowners with a basic STAR exemption will see the exemption amount increase from $26,110 to $30,000 because of the revaluation. This increase in the basic STAR exemption will provide additional STAR tax relief of about $65 over the prior year.
Property owners will receive their tax bills in early September. Payment instructions vary by town so please refer to your tax bill for proper payment information.

*per $1,000 of assessed valuation

**Homestead refers to residential property. Non-homestead property is business property.

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See a five-year tax rate history