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Happy to partner with the Claverack Library to temporarily provide space for Town government and Court services as we work to build our new Claverack Town Hall and community center! The new building will include space for a new Town Hall and Town Court complex. We're also investigating the feasibility of using the nearby Agawamuck Creek to generate power for the new building, and considering space for an "emergency services substation" that would provide police and EMS an area to work from, thereby improving service and response to the Philmont and Mellenville communities. Much more to come on all of this!  (From The Columbia Paper) The former Claverack Library building will become the temporary home of the Claverack Town Court and Town Hall during construction of a new Town Hall and Community Center in Mellenville. The town also plans to utilize the new library’s meeting spaces for municipal functions during construction.
Minor renovations are now underway at the little white building at the intersection of state routes 9H and 23B, with the addition of a new wing with a fully ADA-accessible bathroom and a new entryway to bring the building up to code. “This joint project provides the town a space to hold court and conduct meetings while we take the necessary steps to plan and build a new town office complex that will house the court as well as all of our offices, in addition to providing much needed community space for the public,” said Town Supervisor Kippy Weigelt in a press release. “We are grateful to the library for their willingness to rent this building to us while we embark on this exciting project.” “This is a wonderful partnership between the town and the library,” said Library Board Vice President Stephen King. “It will allow the court and town meetings to take place in a historic much-loved building and the library to make improvements that will make it available for rental in the future, thus helping keep the library healthy and vibrant into the future for all.”
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COUNSELORS NEEDED FOR SUMMER REC PROGRAM, Philmont Memorial Day, the Food Pantry and more!5/10/2021 COUNSELORS NEEDED FOR SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM A great employment opportunity for students age 16+! The Town of Claverack is gearing up for its Summer Youth Program and is looking for persons interested in serving as Program Counselors. The five week summer recreation program runs July through August.  Interested persons must be:
For an application click here. Please attach a resume with the application. Completed applications must be returned by June 1, 2021 by either dropping them off at the Town Office (91 Church Street, Mellenville), by mail to Town of Claverack, P.O. Box V, Mellenville NY 12544 or by email to Deputy Town Clerk Rich Michael. For more information, contact the Town Clerk's office at 518-672-7911. PHILMONT MEMORIAL DAY SERVICES PLANNED Village to be designated a Purple Heart Community.  The Minkler-Seery American Legion Post # 252 is busy planning this year’s Memorial Day Parade and service in Philmont. This Memorial Day, May 31st, 2021, the Village of Philmont will become an official Purple Heart Community. New York State Senator Daphne Jordan, Philmont Mayor Brian Johnson, Town Supervisor Kippy Weigelt, Deputy Town Supervisor Stephen Hook, Town Clerk Mary Jeanne Hoose and other elected officials and dignitaries are expected to attend. The Town of Claverack was named Columbia County's very first Purple Heart Community in 2019. Scheduled events are as follows: Friday evening May 28th the Legion will hold services at the lower Main Street Memorial at 6:00 pm and at the two cemeteries. Monday, May 31st there will be a small parade lining up at 8:30 am on Maple Avenue in front of the Philmont Firehouse. The parade will travel down Main Street to the Main Street Memorial starting at 9:00 am.  The Philmont Post Office is also taking part by promoting the Purple Heart stamp the week before Memorial Day. These are exciting times. Claverack (and Philmont) is working!  The Mellenville-Philmont Food Pantry continues to provide much needed food and supplies to town residents. Volunteers including Town Clerk Mary Jeanne Hoose, Deputy Town Supervisor Stephen Hook and many others continue to support the Food Pantry's mission by keeping the pantry supplied, distributing items to the community and keeping people up-to-date via the town website and Food Pantry's Facebook page.  The vast majority of the food and supplies that we offer do not come to us free; we have to purchase them. Many things, like meat protein, is expensive and makes it difficult for us to afford. So we have to be able to substitute with what we can afford, and use what funds we have. Anyone wishing to make a financial donation to the food pantry may do so by mailing a check made payable to "Mellenville/Philmont Food Pantry" to the Claverack Town Office, PO Box V, Mellenville, NY 12544. CLAVERACK REPUBLICAN CLUB PLANS ROADSIDE CLEANUP  The Claverack Republican Club will conduct a roadside cleanup of trash, litter and debris Saturday, May 22, 2021 in the Claverack Hamlet.
A number of years ago the group “adopted” three one-mile stretches of road leading to the traffic light in the center of the hamlet and every year members and volunteers, in conjunction with the NYS Department of Transportation, pick up the trash that has accumulated along the sides of those three stretches. The cleanup will be held Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 9:00 AM. Volunteers will meet in the A.B. Shaw Firehouse parking lot (must be at least 12-years old). Coffee and donuts will be provided. Volunteers need not be a member of the Claverack Republican Club.... all are welcome! What do updated assessments mean for you? Recently, Claverack property owners received a notice from Town of Claverack Assessor Charles Brewer regarding their new preliminary assessments. These assessments were the result of a town wide revaluation to bring all assessments up to current full-market value. It’s important that we understand what a revaluation does, and doesn’t do. I’ll try to explain that a bit below for you. BACKGROUND -- It’s been ten years (2011) since the Town of Claverack completed a revaluation; a process that does not necessarily increase taxes, but rather revaluates everyone’s property to ensure no one is paying more than their fair share of the tax levy. All municipalities conduct revaluations to ensure compliance with State standards requiring that assessments be at a uniform percentage of market value. In other words, we need to make sure that property owner "John Jones" is paying the same percentage of value as property owner "Sally Smith." It’s simply about fairness and equity.  THE PROCESS -- The town wide reassessment project was a collaborative effort of the Town Assessor's office and the Columbia County Real Property Tax Service Agency. Columbia County assisted the Assessor with data verification, valuation support and guidance throughout the project. In January 2020, data collectors began data verification and took photos for the Assessor of all parcels in the Town. In September 2020, a letter was sent to residential property owners which showed the inventory for their property; such as land size, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, pools, garages, sheds, etc. Property owners at that time were asked to review the data and return any corrections to the Assessor. The Assessor then reviewed the corrections and updated his file accordingly. The final stage of the project was to value the properties based on the updated inventory. Once valuation was completed, notices of preliminary assessments/market value were mailed to all property owners in March 2021. WHAT DOES A HIGHER ASSESSED VALUE MEAN FOR YOU -- First and foremost, it is expected that your assessment will rise over the course of ten years. This is perfectly normal. A higher assessment does not necessarily mean that your property taxes will go up. In fact, most property owner’s town taxes will stay the same or even go down – even though their assessments went up. Weird, right? Not really, if you understand the process. Let me try to explain. Think of the total amount of taxes collected as a pie. A revaluation does not increase the size of the pie. The pie (tax levy) stays exactly the same. The revaluation simply ensures that the pie is cut up fairly; that taxes are fairly distributed based on current market values. That said, you may feel that the Assessor is valuing your property for more than it’s worth, resulting in you paying more than your fair share of the tax burden. If that’s the case, keep reading for information on how to protest your assessment. DISPUTING YOUR ASSESSMENT -- Let’s face it, you may not agree with the Assessor on the valuation of your property. In the 2021 Assessment Notification that was mailed to all property owners on March 18th and 19th, property owners who disagree with their preliminary assessment were advised to schedule an appointment to speak with a representative of the Assessor's office. All information/documentation from those meetings are forwarded to the Assessor and a final review of those assessments will be completed by the Assessor. Property owners that scheduled an appointment will receive the Assessor's decision in early May. The tentative assessment roll will be filed on or about May 1, 2021 and will be published online. If any property owner at that time does not agree with their tentative assessment they can complete a grievance application (RP-524) and submit it to the Town Board of Assessment Review on or before Grievance Day, May 25, 2021. IN CLOSINGI hope I’ve been able to help you better understand the revaluation process and what the end result may mean for you.
I’m including here a brochure from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services, that addresses some of the frequently asked questions about the reassessment process. I would encourage anyone with questions to contact the County Real Property Tax Service Agency, the Town Assessors office or a member of the Town Board. We've worked hard to keep town taxes low, even cutting taxes the past several years. This revaluation project is not an attempt to raise taxes, I give you my word on that. It's simply about making sure that the existing tax burden is distributed fairly and equitably. Again, if you have questions, please call the County Real Property Tax Service Agency and they'll help you understand the process. If you think the Assessor has your property valued too high, dispute your assessment following the steps outlined above. -Kippy Claverack property owners wishing to pay their 2018 taxes early, pursuant to NYS Executive Order 172, may do so in person at the Town Office on Friday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or by mail – postmarked no later than December 31, 2017.
For additional information, contact the Town Office at 518-672-7911, Ext 100. To view/download your 2018 tax bill, visit the town website: www.townofclaverack.com  The forecast is calling for moderate to heavy snow most of the day tomorrow. With that said, the Claverack Town Office and Town Court will be closed tomorrow, February 5, 2014.
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