TAX ASSESSMENTS RISE FOR
FISCAL 2004
New York City opened its 2004 Tentative Assessment Roll
on January 15th. The Billable Assessed Value of all property
reached $99.3 billion, a 6.4% increase over the prior year.
The Billable Assessed Value of co-ops and condos with more
than 10 apartments increased by an average of 4.62% and
8.29% citywide respectively. Assessments are multiplied
by the tax rate to determine the tax due on each property.
The rate is set by the City Council in the course of its
budget process; it will be applied to tax bills for fiscal
2004, which runs from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004.
In November 2002, the tax rate for Class 2 properties in
New York City was increased to 12.571%, with the hope that
this rate level would be sufficient to bridge the budget
deficit. It is anticipated that this rate will not have
to increase further in 2004. Even if the rate remains the
same, tax bills will increase, due in part to the full phasing
in of the 12.571% and in part to the higher assessments.
The tax abatement program for homeowners in New York City
cooperatives and condominiums is scheduled to continue throughout
fiscal 2004 (see page 3 of this Newsletter), providing abatements
of 17.5% and 25% on property tax bills. Senior Citizens
and Veterans exemption programs will continue to provide
additional relief for those who qualify. The STAR (School
Tax Relief) program is State controlled. It is scheduled
to continue this year, but the Governor has proposed that
it be frozen at the 2003 level for fiscal 2004.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 2001
OPERATING COSTS
The Comparative Study of 2001 Operating Costs has been published
and a copy has been sent to each CNYC member and subscriber.
A well-respected benchmark to help cooperatives and condominiums
determine how well they have budgeted for operating costs,
CNYC's annual analysis examines the various costs of operating
a building. Thanks to CNYC's members and to several key
accounting firms, this year's Study includes data from 882
cooperatives and condominiums. Code numbers preserve the
anonymity of participating buildings. When the Study is
sent to members whose financial data is included, they are
advised of their code numbers to help them locate their
own statistics.
The Comparative Study analyzes all information on a per-room
basis, beginning with the property tax assessment and mortgage
figures for participating buildings and the amounts paid
as maintenance or carrying charges. It then lists amounts
spent per room on wages, fuel, utilities, repairs and maintenance,
insurance, management costs, administrative costs, water
& sewer fees, property tax, and debt service. When possible,
elevator maintenance and legal and accounting costs are
each listed separately. The Study then incorporates this
basic information for the year into a ten year chart of
summary statistics, where it calculates the average and
median per-room, per-year outlay for each item, and the
average portion of total operating budget devoted to each.
The Comparative Study of 2001 Operating Costs can be purchased
from CNYC for $5. Send your check to CNYC at 850 7th Avenue, Suite 1103, New York, NY 10019-5230, and be sure to specify
the address to which the Comparative Study should be sent.
CNYC is compiling data for the Comparative Study of 2002
Operating Costs. To ensure its success, we need Year 2002
financial statements from as many New York cooperatives
and condominiums as possible. Please send CNYC your financial
statement for the year 2000 by mid-summer, so that your
information can be included in the Comparative Study.