Contact Information

Assessment Review Board Members
Jim Bergen
Al Pierce
Ray Spiak
Annie Hansen
Tom Pahucki

Assessment Review Board Secretary
Stacey Daly-Wilkins

Date
4th Tuesday in May

Location
Wawayanda Town Hall
Hearing Room/Court Room
80 Ridgebury Hill Road
Slate Hill, NY  10973
 

Phone
Assessor's Office
845-355-5700 Ext. 9

Board of Assessment Review

Grievance Day - Tuesday, May 26, 2026

On Grievance Day, the Grievance Board meets between 1 pm - 4 pm  and 6 pm - 8 pm at Wawayanda Town Hall. Your assessment should roughly reflect the value for which you can sell your property. However, assessing property is not a science, and sometimes you may disagree with the assessor's estimate.

Prior to challenging your assessment….

Please Do Your Homework Before Completing Your Application. Your assessment should reflect the market value of your property. 

The 2026 Tentative Assessment Roll is based upon the market conditions as of July 1, 2025 (Valuation Date) and the status of the property as of March 1, 2026 (Taxable Status Date). 

Market value is typically what your home would sell for.
You may discover that your assessment is within an acceptable range of your market value.

How to estimate the market value of your home

REMEMBER: The burden of proof is on the applicant/owner of the property, or the person authorized to file the grievance. You must provide documents, or recent sales, and pictures to prove your case.

Deadline for filing Form RP-524 is Grievance Day. If you mail the form, it must be received by the assessor no later than 8pm on Grievance Day. If you do not file the form by the deadline, you will lose the opportunity for administrative and judicial review of your assessment this year.  Completed applications (RP-524) should be submitted to the Assessor’s Office on or before Grievance Day  with your supporting documentation.

The Assessor or Wawayanda Board of Assessment Review WILL NOT accept email or faxed grievance application(s) (RP-524). The RP-524 application must be delivered in person, or via U.S. postal service, UPS, Fed-Ex or by any letter currier that can verify your delivery. 

If you have a concern, the earlier you meet with the assessor, the easier it is to make modifications.

The Assessor can review your property and make modifications, if necessary, prior to May 1st of each year. After May 1st, you must file a grievance. You may appear in person on Grievance Day, and present additional documentation to the B.O.A.R. to support your opinion of the property value.

Watch a short video - Is Your Assessment Fair?
Watch a short video - Contesting your Property Assessment
Watch a short video - About your Property Taxes and Assessment

New York State Tax and Finance has put together an informational page regarding "Contesting your Assessment."

Supporting Documents:
Supporting Documents can be a recent appraisal of your property. Have you had an appraisal completed in the last 12 - 18 months? If you have recently purchased your property or refinanced your mortgage, you will have an appraisal. The appraisal may be used as supporting documentation to prove your grievance.  

You can find homes likes yours ( same size, same style, year built, school district, etc) that have recently sold in your area. You can search for home sales on Orange County Imagemate. On imagemate search for your property 1st, once you are in your property you will see a button on the left side that reads "Comparables", click comparable.   At the bottom of the comparable screen click sales,  the default search is set for assessment. Also, remove some default search criteria if necessary.

If you have questions, you can stop by the Assessor's office or call (845) 355-5700 ext. 9 to speak with our staff. The Assessor’s Office is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 pm. 

**** Comparable sales must be dated between July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025****
****Appraisals must contain comparable sales between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025****

You may be able to find home sales information on zillow.com

 

Judicial Review

In order to pursue judicial review, you must first go through administrative (formal grievance) review

  • Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR)

If you are dissatisfied with the results of your grievance, you have a right to file a petition for a Small Claims Assessment Review. This is a low cost option available to most property owners. This process is coordinated by Orange County. A petition must be filed with Orange County within 30 days of the filing of the Final Assessment Roll. In order to file a Small Claims Assessment Review, you must first have filed a Grievance (RP-524). Please read the instructions and complete petition for Small Claims Assessment Review.

  • Tax certiorari proceedings in State Supreme Court-to pursue this option, you should contact an attorney.

Please contact our offices with any other questions about the grievance process at 845-355-5700 ext. 9.