Ritchie Calls on Tax Dept. to Hold ‘Star’ Registration Events in Central, Northern New York

One in Four Upstate Homeowners Still Need to Reapply 

With just weeks remaining until the deadline to reapply for the Basic STAR program, State Senator Patty Ritchie is calling the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance to host registration events in the region she represents. 

According to recent reports, the Tax Department has scheduled a new round of seven STAR registration events—all taking place in major cities along the Thruway and downstate and none being hosted in St. Lawrence, Oswego and Jefferson Counties. 

According to the most recent numbers released by the Tax Department, roughly 16,000 homeowners in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties still need to reapply for the program.  As of November 26^th, 75 percent of homeowners in Oswego and St. Lawrence Counties have re-registered and 72 percent of those eligible have re-registered in Jefferson County. 

“In recent months, I have been working closely with county and local assessors to spread the word about the need to re-register for Basic STAR.  That being said, there’s still a lot more work to be done before the December 31^st deadline to ensure people in our region are receiving the important benefits they are entitled to,” said Senator Ritchie.

“While I’m pleased that the Commissioner is encouraging homeowners to re-register for STAR, I’m disappointed that there aren’t any planned events in the region I represent.  I encourage the Tax Department to host events here that will help the thousands of local taxpayers who still need to re-register for the program.”

Recently, Senator Ritchie hosted three STAR registration events in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties.  As a result, dozens of homeowners were able to renew their STAR enrollments and have questions answered about other available tax breaks.  In addition, more than 1,100 visitors to Senator Ritchie’s website were directed to the online form to re-register for STAR.

To read Senator Ritchie's letter to Commissiner Mattox, click here.