Otsego and Delaware counties can boast some of the lowest property tax rates in the Southern Tier region, according to a study released Tuesday by the Empire Center.
The report (available at bit.ly/1EZyGYY ) compiles data collected annually by the state comptroller’s office and lists the municipalities with the 20 highest and 20 lowest effective property tax rate in each of nine regions throughout New York state.
All but one of the lowest 20 tax rates belonged to municipalities within Otsego and Delaware counties. The three lowest rates in the Southern Tier region belonged to Cooperstown, Richfield Springs and Edmeston school districts, respectively.
Oxford, at No. 5, and Norwich, at No. 10, both ranked among the 20 highest property tax rates in the Southern Tier region.
The effective property tax rate is arrived at by combining data about the various jurisdictions residents of a given municipality pay taxes to. For example, according to the report, a resident of the village of Endicott could pay taxes to the Union-Endicott school district, to Broome County and to the town of Union.
Overall, the Southern Tier region, which includes Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties, has a median effective tax rate nearly equal to the state median tax rate, meaning that area residents, on average, do not pay substantially more or substantially less than the majority of New Yorkers.
© 2015 The Daily Star