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Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WF- 125th District) announced that her legislation to allow partial tax exemptions for affordable housing in Tompkins County was signed into law by the Governor.

Lifton explained that the law was needed because, even for housing that has a capped re-sale value to remain affordable, tax assessments can increase based on full-market value, creating an unsustainable tax burden for families.  The legislation allows for the county -- and any municipality within the county, including school districts, at their option -- to grant a partial real property tax exemption for affordable housing that has a regulatory agreement restricting the purchase of the property to those who qualify for affordable housing.  It requires that the county hold a public hearing and then adopt a local law to put this into effect in the county.

"I'm grateful to the Tompkins County Legislature and Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services for alerting me to this problem and I'm very pleased that this legislation has been signed into law.  I'm hopeful that it will be an important tool in helping to address the under-supply of affordable housing in our county.  This will help to ensure that families living in affordable housing can continue to afford the property taxes and that those homes remain in the stock of affordable housing in Tompkins County as they are sold," Lifton said.

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