Town of Plattsburgh - Real Property Tax Exemption Administration (2018M-163)

Issued Date
December 14, 2018

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Town Assessor is properly administering select real property tax exemptions.

Key Findings

  • All 23 properties tested with agricultural exemptions totaling $6.2 million lacked completed original applications and/or supporting documentation.
  • These properties had annual agricultural exemption renewals but lacked periodic verification of reported farm income.
  • Three veteran exemptions had an incorrect ownership or residential percentage used in calculating the exemption.

Key Recommendations

  • Ensure all applications are complete and supporting documentation is provided before granting exemptions.
  • Annually verify income to support agricultural exemptions.
  • Ensure all exemptions are properly calculated.

Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action. Appendix C includes our comments on the Town’s response.