AMHERST, N.Y. — Wednesday was supposed to be a night focused on Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa’s state of the town address.
But like most gatherings in the town, as of late, it was upstaged by a more pressing matter: property taxes.
Last Friday, letters were sent out to tens of thousands of homeowners in Amherst, saying that for the first time since 2017, property values are being reassessed.
It comes on top of an 11.4% tax increase that already went into place in January as a part of Amherst’s 2024 budget, raising the average household property tax by about $300.
That brought a room full of residents to take most of Wednesday’s question center to press the town supervisor on these taxes that are seemingly piling up.
“How much money of our taxpayer dollars is being wasted on decades of waste?” one resident asked.
Kulpa acknowledged it’s been a difficult year for tax increases but said the changes have been necessary and are already paying off.
“We’re no longer in federal purgatory,” he said. “We're no longer paying penalties to the federal government.”
But many residents were left wondering if all they’ve had to pay this year will eventually pay off for them.
“I’d like to know whether some of the one-time costs that led to a tax increase will lead to a tax decrease next year,” Amherst resident Dave Borchard said.
Property owners can still challenge these updated property values. Instructions on how are in the letters sent to each property. They will have until July 1 to do so.