‘It’s not fair’: Homeowners speak out on Buffalo’s 2025 reassessment plan

“It’s not fair to the landlord,” he said. “On Monday mornings, in municipal court, you see over a hundred people with eviction notices because most people can’t pay their rent because it’s too high for them.”

“What happens if you don’t do a reassessment or update? Some neighborhoods may be assessed unfairly and not valued enough compared to other neighborhoods,” says Robert Koszarek, a licensed real estate appraiser with KLW Municipal Inc. “But their assessment has stayed the same, so we make sure we provide values ​​for every property in the City of Buffalo.”

“This is going to happen to a lot of homeowners in the city of Buffalo,” said Joseph Emminger of Emminger, Newton, Pigeon & Magyar, Inc. “Their property assessments are going to go up and their taxes are going to go down.”

“That’s another misunderstanding. They didn’t talk about the property tax increase. They didn’t say how your property value will be calculated,” said Richard James, a homeowner. “They didn’t say that everyone’s taxes were going to increase, so we were told that everyone’s taxes were going to increase, which wasn’t fully explained in this presentation.”

“Just because the property assessment goes up doesn’t necessarily mean your taxes are going up,” Koszarek says. “It also depends on what percentage of the city’s total assessed value changes.”

“There should be a citywide rate where everyone pays the same price,” Tony said. “I hope the city rebuilds its engagement and sets things straight.”