Taxes much higher in Cicero/Clay? (New York, Syracuse: real estate, house, neighborhood)

[need more snow]

I have been reading some great things about the Cicero/Clay area on this site, so I decided to try and find some additional information on the taxes in those areas.

Looking at County/Town Tax Rates I see that Cicero/Clay are well over $100/$1000 for county/town tax when compared to other places that are near $10/$1000.

If I understand correctly, for a $250000 house, the taxes would be:
$250000*~$100/$1000=$25000/yr in taxes?

Is this actually the case, or is there some sort of typo?

I see on Equalization Rates (http://www.ongov.net/Realproptax/equalization.html - broken link) the equalization rate is around 4-5 for Cicero/Clay vs 90-100 for surrounding areas. Is that used as a multiplier to average out the taxes with the surrounding areas to eventually give everyone a pretty equal rate (ie listed rate * equalization rate = actual rate, bringing Cicero/Clay somewhere near $6/$1000)?

Also, on School Tax Rates (http://www.ongov.net/Realproptax/schoolrates.html - broken link) I see that the school taxes are well above other areas for Cicero/Clay again, about $400-$500/$1000 vs $26/$1000. Using equalization, this would bring Cicero/Clay closer to the other areas listed, but I am not sure if that is what it is actually for.

I know people say the taxes are high up there, but without equalization, it would seem way too high paying about 10%+ the value of your house every year in taxes.

Finally, which taxes am I missing in addition to the ones listed above that need to get paid yearly, ie communication tax, personal property tax (on vehicles/boats/etc), and what kind of rates do these usually have?

Thanks in advance!

[need more snow]

Sorry about the links getting messed up, i'll try to get those fixed.

[bellafinzi]

No, taxes are not higher in Clay and Cicero. Actually, Clay and Cicero have some of the lowest property taxes in suburban Syracuse.

The towns of Clay, Cicero and Otisco are taxed different than the other towns. Properties aren't assessed at full value.

New York State law requires that all property within a municipality be assessed at a uniform percentage of market value. The percentage can range from 1% up to and exceeding 100%. Every taxpayer pays his or her fair share as long as every property within the municipality is assessed at the same percentage of value. To calculate the full value of property assessed at 20% of value, the assessment by is multiplied by five. For example, a home assessed at $15,900 in a community assessed at 20% would have a full value of $15,900 x 5 = $79,500

I do not fully understand why this is done for some towns or how it all works. I just know that taxes are lower in Clay and Cicero than in most other Onondaga County towns.

I'll try to find an source for this and post a link when I find.... Here is what the Syracuse Post Standard printed for tax rates from 2006:

Property and School Taxes on a $100,000 house by school district

City ~ $3,544

Town of Cicero
North Syracuse ~ $2,478
Central Square ~ $2,260

Town of Clay
North Syracuse ~ $2,342
Liverpool ~ $2,728

Town of Lysander
Baldwinsville ~ $2,966
Phoenix ~ $3,072

Town of Salina
Liverpool ~ $2,941
North Syracuse ~ $2,521

Town of DeWitt
Jamesville-DeWitt ~ $2,996
East Syracuse-Minoa ~ $3,300

Town of Manlius
Fayetteville-Manlius ~ $3,326
East Syracuse-Minoa ~ $3,235

Town of Pompey
Fayetteville-Manlius ~ $3,283

Town of Camillus
West Genesee ~ $3,578

Town of Onondaga
Westhill ~ $2,930
West Genesee ~ $2,769

Hope this helps!

[need more snow]

Ah that is good news then. You think they would want to mention that on their county website to avoid confusing people contemplating moving to the area. It's a good thing this website exists. Thanks for the quick reply.

[bellafinzi]

Glad I could help!

Found a link... lots of changes (assuming they are more recent tax rates)
A Syracuse Real Estate and Relocation Guide by Syracuse Homes - Cost of Living and Taxes in Syracuse

For some reason...the link didn't include the property tax rates for the North Syracuse school district in the Town of Clay.

[looking9]

Thanks for this tax info. The taxes are incredibly confusing without such a list.

So if a house is assessed at $100,000, is that generally the market value too?

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by looking9

Thanks for this tax info. The taxes are incredibly confusing without such a list.

So if a house is assessed at $100,000, is that generally the market value too?

No problem. I agree that property taxes are confusing in Upstate NY with all the various towns and school districts...

Yes to your question. I believe the town uses the assessed value as a guide. They also factor in the surrounding neighborhood. If the neighborhood is nice, the market value will be higher for your home, etc.