CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Cheektowaga Town Board will hold a special meeting Thursday, May 12th at 6 p.m. in the Cheektowaga Town Hall to discuss the 2022 home assessments. Homeowners said this is the second time their homes have been assessed in the past two years.
"If you go through with this assessment, I'm about to lose my home," one homeowner said.
Dozens of Cheektowaga homeowners crowded into town hall Tuesday to express their concern over the 2022 home reassessment.
"We bought our house for $29,900. We were so proud 20 years ago. Now it's estimated value is $179,000. My mortgage went up $250. We live week to week," another homeowner said.
Homeowners said they received a notice in the mail this week saying their homes have been reassessed. Some say their property went up $30,000, and others even more.
The deadline to contest the assessment is May 25th. Town Board Member Michael Jasinski, the Chair of the Assessment Committee, said he didn't know about the assessment himself.
"I got the letter yesterday as well. It came as a complete surprise because assessments is my committee, and I was one of the last people to find out about it," Jasinski said.
Town Board Member Brian Nowak said the 2022 assessment was voted on February 8, 2022. But Town Supervisor Diane Benczkowski said her notes from that meeting said otherwise.
"I said what are we doing in 2022? Are you planning on doing a reassessment? Assessor: I don't have any plans at this point," Benczkowski said.
Some board members then made a motion to stop the assessment, but others shut that down, saying they were concerned about legalities. The meeting on Thursday May 12th will be to figure out how to proceed with the 2022 assessment.
