August 14, 2008

Amherst Town Board

5583 Main Street

Williamsville, New York 14221

RE:  "Condo Law"

Dear Amherst Town Board

The Amherst Chamber of Commerce, representing over 2,000 local businesses, has been reviewing the Town of Amherst current policies as they relate to property tax assessments on parcels identified as ‘condominiums'.  We agree with many of the individuals who think that the current process and qualifications need to be re-visited and data relative to the cause and effect of any potential changes be discussed.  Absent any real research with statistics outlining the fiscal impact to the town, the residential homeowners, current ‘condo' owners and the business community of projected changes is bad public policy.  While it might have some ‘feel good' value, the long term ramifications are unknown.

Further, we know from prior experience with the Sweet Home School District, that the implementation of a homestead taxing system has significant negative economic impact on the district.  While an argument can be made that the homestead provision could level out the taxing discrimination being utilized by patio homes, the ancillary impact would negatively affect business districts.  This would be especially harmful to the Village of Williamsville and Eggertsville-Snyder areas that are seeking to secure investment in their rehabilitation and vacancies. 

Please consider the points we have made when deciding this issue.  Our request is that you put the decision on hold and undertake the appropriate research necessary to make decisions that do not have residual negative impact on the very taxpayers you are trying to protect.  The Amherst Chamber of Commerce would be happy to identify independent professionals with the expertise to assist you in this research.  We believe that changes in the current laws could be made to level the playing field for all residential taxpayers without adopting the Homestead provision which could have catastrophic long term impact.

Please feel free to contact me for further discussion.  I sincerely hope that, given the information above, you will refrain from making any hard decisions at the upcoming Town Board meeting.

Sincerely,

Colleen C. DiPirro

President & CEO

Amherst Chamber of Commerce