Lansing Town Board may expand senior and veteran tax exemptions

The Lansing Town Board is discussing the expansion of property tax exemptions for seniors and veterans.  

At its Nov. 20 meeting, the town board discussed potentially expanding the income threshold for low-income seniors and low-income people with a disability who can qualify for an exemption on their property taxes of up to 50%. The threshold for the full 50% exemption will now start at $37,500, up from $35,000. The county legislature approved a similar measure in October to expand the threshold. 

Municipalities have the chance to follow with a similar move. The last time the town expanded its exemption thresholds was in 2023. Currently, 156 town residents see reductions on their tax bill due to the exemption, County Director of Assessment Jay Franklin said in a memo sent to the town board. 

In the letter, Franklin said that an additional six people would see an exemption on their 2025 tax bill if the town approves the adjusted threshold. With the potential 162 exemptions, the tax base would be reduced by $1,326,397 total. The letter from Franklin can be found here: https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lansingny-meet-5bad52e8e90a4d8e8cfcad5ee4ab0637/ITEM-Attachment-001-f409e944044b436bb36f4245e457c95a.pdf

“That is not really drastic,” town board member Judy Drake said at the meeting. “But it would really help those six people.” Drake said that she was in favor of the measure.

The reduction in the tax base would mean that tax rate would raise about $0.001257, which would translate to a minimum $0.43 increase in the median house’s town tax bill, Franklin said. 

“That seems awfully reasonable,” town board member Laurie Hemmings said at the meeting.

The median house in the town is assessed at $345,000 in value, Franklin said. 

“I am generally in favor of not leaving the threshold amount minimum set at the amount that people on social security would meet,” Drake said. “It is nice that they  get a bit of an increase. So keeping up with that is nice.”

The last time that the state allowed for an increase in the exemption scales was in 2007.

“It was long past due that New York revisited this exemption statute,” Franklin said in the letter. “My plan is to bring this to the County Legislature every 2 years.”

The exemption would potentially become a local law, subject to a public hearing that could take place in the next two months, town of Lansing counsel Guy Krogh said. 

“It might become a one-pager that would update the exemption charts, but until I go through this a little more thoroughly, I want to make sure that is all that would be,” Krogh said.

The county also passed a measure to raise the exemption threshold for U.S. military veterans. The threshold for a wartime veteran exemption was upped to $21,000, $35,000 for veterans who served in a combat theater and $70,000 for disabled veterans. The veterans exemption had not been raised by the county since 2000 and was established in 1984.

“Based upon the income information we have on record, if the new scale was in place for the 2025 county taxes, the 1576 qualified veterans would see an additional exemption of $11,999,668,” Franklin said in a letter. “The reduction in the tax base would mean that tax rate would raise about $0.004889 which would translate to a minimum $1.47 increase in the median house’s county tax bill.”

Lansing Town Board members say they might also look at increasing the threshold for the veterans exemptions. 

Franklin will be at the town board’s December meeting to talk about the potential updates. The board plans to potentially host a public hearing in January.

He stressed in his letter that the actions the county takes on exemptions do not impact actions on local tax exemptions.

“I would like to emphasize that the actions taken by the County Legislature regarding the adoption of exemptions or adjustments to limits do not directly influence your decision-making process concerning exemptions or limits for your municipality,” Franklin said. “You retain the authority to determine what is most appropriate for your community. However, from my experience in the Department of Assessment, I understand that local municipalities often prefer to be informed of county decisions before determining the best course of action for their respective areas. As the director of assessment, my role is not to advocate for or against any

specific exemption, but rather to ensure you have access to the necessary information. I am more than willing to attend any Board meeting or answer any questions you may have, so please do not hesitate to reach out at any time.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter): @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The annual Lansing Artisan Fair will kick off Dec. 6 from 3-6 p.m. and on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The Lansing Artisan Fair is a fantastic opportunity to kickstart your holiday shopping and discover unique, handcrafted items,” reads a post on the Lansing Community Library website. “This year, the event will take place at three locations: the Lansing Community Library, Lansing Town Hall, and Lansing Community Center. Come out to support local artists and the Lansing Community Library.”