by Carol Thompson

Residents living in the Village of Phoenix are the highest taxed village residents in Oswego County.

Last December, David Hastings, who heads the county’s Real Property Tax Office, told members of the county legislature’s Community and Consumer Affairs Committee that the tax rate in Phoenix is higher than any other village in the county.

“Phoenix is the most expensive village to live in the county,” Hasting said during a discussion of real-estate trends. Hastings also pointed out, although it doesn’t directly concern his office, that the Phoenix Central School District is among the most expensive districts in the county.

Legislators Kim Seager and Art Ospelt, both taxpayers in the school district, nodded their heads in agreement as Hastings spoke. Ospelt said his school tax bill was up $400 from the previous year.
Hastings has mentioned the school’s high tax rates at other meetings. Several years ago he told residents at a Town of Schroeppel meeting that the taxes in their district were the highest of all schools county-wide.

For many residents in the district, the school tax bill is significantly higher than the property tax bill—in some instances more than $1,000 more. The bill for a home assessed at $110,000 in 2006 carried a school tax of $2,909 and a property tax bill of $1,952.

The 2006-07 village tax rate is $12.69 per 1,000 of assessed value. Comparatively, the next highest tax rate is the Village of Altmar at $7.74 per 1,000 of assessed value followed by the Village of Cleveland at $7.71. The Village of Pulaski’s tax rate is listed at $5.54 per thousand while Hannibal’s rate is $2.34 per thousand.

The tax rate in Phoenix rose to the current level from $10.59 per thousand in 2003-04. That amounts to a $2.10 increase in a three-year period.

Along with the village tax, those residents also pay a part-town tax that includes shared services.

Phoenix Mayor Tony Fratto said he was not aware of the discussion at the legislature’s committee meeting.

“I realize that the legislature discusses many various items and I hope that someday they will ask me about all the grants we have been receiving and the revitalization projects going on in Phoenix,” Fratto said, adding that the village recently received a grant of over $726,000.

“We are very proud of this grant and also our inter-municipal one with the town for nearly $150,000 for a street sweeper,” he added. “This is our second attempt for the street sweeper and we are waiting to hear back on it.”
The mayor said it is an exciting time for the village.