LETTER: County Property Taxes in Rye Cut for 3rd Straight Year

Rye guy and county boss George Latimer, and Rye gal and county pol Catherine Parker have penned a letter to MyRye.com readers abut the third straight year of county property tax cuts, and what it means in real terms to residents.

Dear MyRye.com Readers,

As Rye residents celebrate the New Year 2022 – with COVID and all the problems we face – there is good news for Rye from Westchester County.

With the passage of the 2022 Westchester County Budget, now signed into law, Rye property taxpayers will receive a third straight year of reduced County property tax bills. Over the past three budgets (2020, 2021 and now, 2022), the County Executive and Board of Legislators have cut the total County property tax levy by $9 million aggregate. Given local variations in each community’s tax assessment roll, and the State’s equalization rate, it has generated consecutive tax cuts in Rye City of 4%, 3% and this year upcoming, 8%. This hasn’t happened in twenty years.

What does this mean in real world terms?

If your total property tax bill is $19,000 per year, you pay approximately $3,000 to the County in property taxes (about 2/3 of your total property taxes pays for school taxes, and a smaller portion for City taxes). A 4% decrease in 2020 dropped that County bill of $3,000 by $120 to $2,880. In 2021, a 3% tax cut saved you an additional $86 – new total $2,794. Now that number will be dropped in 2022 by another 8% – $223 – bringing your tax bill down to $2,571 The aggregate three year savings is $429, 14% less than what you paid prior to 2020.

Now, saving a few hundred dollars is not the cure to all tax headaches; again, the County portion is a small portion of the greater whole of your bill. But had we increased taxes by 14% there would be tar and feathers awaiting the budget’s adoption.

All of this was done without cutting services: there was no reduced staffing at Read Sanctuary or the Marshlands; we kept the annual Household Clean Up Day at Playland, and repaved Theodore Fremd Road to boot. And finished a walking path alongside Playland Parkway as well as reconstructing Playland Pool. We fully funded the County police, and reduced the overall County workforce with the support of the unions. We gained savings with new negotiated vendor contracts. We fully funded child care assistance for those who need it, and established mental health crisis response teams to deal with certain types of safety incidents.

All of this was done on a bi-partisan basis in Westchester County government.

We are both Rye residents, former members of the Rye City Council. We have sought, in our current County positions, to do right by all Westchester residents. These tax numbers differ by community – but here at home in Rye City, we have delivered our best to the neighbors and friends that have supported us over the years – and the benefits accrue to all property taxpayers whether you have supported us or not.

The record speaks for itself. Prove it to yourself: check your own property tax bills over these last few years, and for that matter, prior years,

Happy New Year, Rye.

George Latimer
Westchester County Executive

Catherine Parker
Westchester County Legislator