Shelter Island Property Assessments – Spring 2025

Each spring, the Town of Shelter Island conducts re-assessments of properties throughout the island. This involves comparing the subject property to similar properties, ideally in the same general vicinity as the subject. Unlike an appraisal, which contemplates transfers from the immediate 12 months prior, an assessment is a lagging indicator going back over a period of three years from the prior July.

The position of Assessor was historically an elected position, however several years ago, the Town Supervisor decided to revise the position to an appointed position. The initial choice was asked to resign, was paid an exit fee for the balance of his employment contract, and in the past 3-4 years, the assessments have been supervised by the balance of the staff. On the Town website, the assessors wrote: “Our office was unable to do a full revaluation of the town for the 2024-2025 assessment roll. Thus causing New York State to reduce our level of assessment from 73% to 68%. This change means that your assessed value is no longer considered the market value of your property.”

The Town sent out notices of proposed assessments several weeks ago, with a notice which to some recipients seemed contradictory (noting that the change would not result in an increase of property taxes however the example presented showed an increase in taxes) – and which created confusion amongst many property owners who contacted the assessors for clarification. Many owners who presented more concise comparable sales were successful in getting reductions, while others were asked to fill out forms explaining their position, did not receive a reply or were told to go to the Assessment Review Board in several weeks.

Traditionally, the comparable sales for the prior 3 years were attached to the letter of reassessment, however since that was not included in the mailing, the assessors were inundated with requests for the comps. In the past, houses in half acre areas such as Silver Beach, Harborview, Longview or West Neck were compared to each other, however this year, these houses were compared to properties in a one acre minimum zoned area such as Hay Beach. In similar instances, houses in Hay Beach were compared to mansions in Dering Harbor Village. To their credit, upon having these irregularities pointed out, the Assessors quickly said these were errors and made corrections.

When it comes to a municipality assessing value to property that is tied to the Town Budget and which can result in higher annual property taxes, transparency, attention to detail and accuracy is crucial. In previous years, the Town posted proposed property assessments for that year so that property owners could see how their neighbors’ assessments compared to their own. This year, the proposed assessments have been re-titled “Cross reference report” and sit in a sidebar entitled “Related Documents”

Here is the link to the 2025 Proposed Property Assessments:

https://shelterislandtown.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1987/Cross-Reference-Report-02-25-2025-PDF

Essentially, the value of each property on the island follows the properties that are similar to it from the prior July going back three years. The property value is tied to the Town Budget, so if the budget remains relatively the same year after year, the annual property taxes for that property (or the “tax rate”) remain relatively the same. If the Town Budget increases, the annual property taxes for a property increase as well.

Many property owners do not vote on Shelter Island as a primary residence, and therefore do not have a voice in the decision making process at the polls. With many elections won and lost by sometimes fewer than two dozen votes, one vote carries weight.