County Main Page| 2007 Tax Refund Information Lookup| Dispute Form
The Otsego County Board of Representatives adopted the 2007 Otsego County budget on December 6, 2006. The $112,493,075 County Budget included a tax levy of $13,932,836. The County Board mistakenly thought that the tax levy increase for 2007 was 2.5%. After the tax bills had been printed and distributed to the tax collectors, it was discovered the actual increase for the County Budget was 25%. Because of equalization rates and assessments, the actual county tax increase for each town varied from 8.2% to 37.8%.
To correct this mistake the Otsego County Board of Representatives decided to amend the County Budget and issue refund checks for the excess amount. In January 2007 amendments were made to the County Budget and request was submitted to the state asking for special state legislation that gave Otsego County the authority to issue tax refund checks. State legislation was signed by Governor Spitzer in May 2007, and the County Board adopted revised county rates in June 2007. The revised rates vary for each town from -6.76% to 12.24%.
County tax refund checks are being printed and mailed out in early August 2007. The first batch of checks is for those landowners who paid their bills in January 2007. Landowners who paid their tax bills during the period February - July 2007 and landowners who sold their property during 2007 will receive a check in subsequent mailings during the month of September.
The County/Town tax bill sent out in January 2007 includes taxes for the following items: County expenses, Town expenses, Special District expenses (such as fire Districts or light Districts) and unpaid fees (such as unpaid school taxes or water fees). County expenses include funds for the County Budget, the Workers Comp costs for the city of Oneonta and the 24 towns in the county, and small miscellaneous costs (such as election expenses).
The revised rates adopted by the County Board in June 2007 reflect a decrease in only the 2007 County Budget portion of the tax bill. Your tax refund check is for a decrease in that portion of the county tax levy. No other items on the tax bills were modified. So if your town or special district taxes increased, there is no refund for that portion of the bill. Your entire 2007 tax increase is not being refunded. Your refund is only for a small portion of the county tax levy.
Refund amounts are dependent on a person's assessment and the town he or she lives in. The check amounts range from $.03 to $7,100. The average refund check is $62. Approximately 55% of the refund checks are under $60.
If you disagree with the amount of your refund check, you should fill out a Dispute Form found on this website and mail it to the county. Your dispute will be investigated and you will be notified of the outcome.
Checks are being sent to the property owner of record. This is the same name that appeared on the January 2007 tax bill.
If you purchased or sold land during 2007, the refund amount will be apportioned according to the date of land transfer. In these cases, two checks will be issued; one to the former landowner and one to the new landowner.
If you have not received a check by the end of September, fill out a dispute form located on this website and send it to the county or call the county's telephone helpline at 607-547-4202 from 9am - 4pm Monday thru Friday. Someone will assist you to determine if a check was mailed to you or if a check was mailed to a different name and what your options are.