VILLAGE OF MINOA — Property tax legislation conjured up by Minoa’s Mayor Bill Brazill was signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Kathy Hochul to apply statewide to villages of its size.
Written with the help of Village Attorney Courtney Hills, the board of trustees and the New York State Conference of Mayors, the bill was amended and recommitted several times with sponsorship since its inception by Assemblyman Al Stirpe.
The law allows the Village of Minoa to grant real property tax exemptions for newly constructed single-family and multi-family residential properties on vacant, predominantly vacant or underutilized parcels within its boundaries. Those designations refer to any completely open space or land that has yet to have a structure for living on the premises.
The deal for eligible properties would be enacted according to a five-year schedule that starts with a 25% exemption on village taxes and declines thereafter by 5% on an annual basis.
“With this law being passed, we’re showing that we care about our residents and we want them to prosper,” Brazill said. “We want to make it easier for them to stay in the village, so anything that we can do as a board to continue that effort is a huge plus.”
The law pertains to increases in assessed value attributable to primary residences priced up to $375,000, but only if construction commenced after the law took effect.
Applications for exemption would also need to be filed with Town of Manlius Assessor Patrick Duffy within one year of the completion of construction before being subjected to a public hearing.
The act will expire and be repealed in the summer of 2032, 10 years after the governor’s signature, at which point the regular prior tax conditions will be reinstituted.
Stirpe said he expects the legislation to entice environmentally conservational development inside the village of slightly over 3,600 people.
“Central New York is home to many expanding, vibrant communities and it’s pivotal we advance Smart Growth policies today to improve our local infrastructure’s sustainability for generations to come,” said Stirpe. “This law will provide much-needed tax relief for eligible homeowners in the Village of Minoa and will bolster our state’s environmentally conscious land use development planning. I thank Gov. Hochul for her attention to this issue and for signing this bill into law.”
Brazill said the four-year process that went into getting the bill passed gave him insight as to how legislation comes to fruition.
In 2018, closer to the beginning of that stretch, the project to expand the Minoa Farms neighborhood had grown “stagnant,” with only one house built a year if that according to Brazill.
The mayor then made it a goal to stimulate growth in that section of the village once again, though he would hear reservations from residents and real estate agents that its tax rates were noticeably higher than properties just down the street.
From there, Brazill considered the introduction of a tax incentive encompassing the whole village, going on to learn that such a plan had to go through the state level.
Stirpe’s agreement to sponsor the bill came with the disclaimer that sometimes pushes for legislation go nowhere, Brazill said, but they both believed it was worth the try.
After delays, what he called the “relentless work ethic” of Stirpe, and glimmers of hope little by little, Brazill was informed on Aug. 17 that the law was finally passed by the New York State Assembly and the Senate.
“It goes to show that you can get things done if you have tenacity toward it, keep driving and never give up,” Brazill said. “It’s just unbelievable news. I haven’t stopped smiling since.”
At this point, the Minoa Farms development has “picked back up” too, he said, with projections that there are still about 130 more lots to build on. He said the tax break will bring in downstaters who view a $300,000 home on a quarter acre as a cheap option compared to the rent for their city apartments as well as people who grew up in Minoa and wish to work there remotely, in some cases to be closer to their parents.
