Mt. Kisco to Settle Tax Lawsuits with Holiday Inn Owner

The owner of Mount Kisco's Holiday Inn is set to get a large refund on its property taxes, after the village's board of trustees approved a settlement for a series of assessment lawsuits filed over the past four years.

The Tuesday meeting vote was unanimous, said Village Manager James Palmer.

Under the terms of the settlement, the village will pay out $95,593 to parent company Kisco Motel Associates, said Palmer. The Bedford Central School District will refund the largest portion, at $112,652, Palmer explained. Westchester County, meanwhile, is set to pay out $33,499 for its share, Palmer said.

The payout will be problematic for Bedford Central, which has seen its refunds paid out exceed its reserves set aside for doing so, Assistant Superintendent for Business Mark Betz told Patch for a recent story.

The county and school taxes are being refunded through the assessment years from 2008-11, while village taxes are being refunded for 2009-11. The years correspond to each time in which Kisco Motel Associates has challenged its assessments, according to court records, with the owner claiming that the levels were too high. Such lawsuits are also called tax certioraris.

Palmer agreed that Kisco Motel deserved a reduction, noting that its income gathered warrants it.

However, Palmer said that "it's much less" than requested. Kisco Motel, in its lawsuit filings, requested property assessment reductions into the low 6-figure range.

William Sulzer, an attorney representing Kisco Motel, declined to comment.

For its village taxes, Mount Kisco will pay out the following on an annual basis. The originally requested reduction amounts are stated in parentheses:

• 2009: From $1,100,000 to $695,200 (requested to $110,000 range)
• 2010: From $1,100,000 to $698,400 (requested to $110,000 range)
• 2011: From $1,000,000 to $693,600 (requested to $110,000 range)
  • Note: The village taxes assessment for 2011 was originally $1,100,000 as well but was then reduced, Palmer said. The $110,000 originally asked for was based on the prior assessment.

For school and county taxes (they are collectively bunched in under a seperate assessment roll, in which Mount Kisco is classified as a town), the following reductions were approved. The originally requested reduction amounts are stated in parentheses:

• 2008: From $2,000,000 to $1,391,200 (requested to $200,000 range)
• 2009: From $2,000,000 to $1,414,400 (requested to $200,000 range)
• 2010: From $2,000,000 to $1,444,000 (requested to $200,000 range)
• 2011: From $1,700,000 to $1,524,000 (requested to $170,000 range)