Village of Lewiston continues to think warm thoughts

Welch comments on reassessment

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

With the first few tastes of spring weather, trustees in the Village of Lewiston continue to issue approvals for events shaping the village’s summer season. On Monday, the board approved motions:

•Granting a facilities use request for Lew-Port Youth Football & Cheer allowing the organization to continue playing at Richard F. Soluri Park adjacent to the spoils area off Cayuga Street. Football and cheerleading practices will be held from 5-8 p.m. April 13 through June 12, and July 27 through Oct. 30.

•Permitting the Mason FOREVER Foundation Inc. to host the Mason FOREVER 5K Run on Thursday, June 11.

•Consenting to the Boy Scouts of America Troop 855 application to place flags at the intersections of Center Street and Fourth to Ninth streets. Installation is slated to occur mid-May – prior to Memorial Day weekend – with the municipality providing a budgeted $127.25 for 25 U.S. flags, $131.94 for six flagpoles, and $35.96 for bracketing – a total of $295.15.

•Welcoming back Skylighters to execute the annual Fourth of July fireworks at a price of $30,000. The pyrotechnic display and services agreement includes a rain date of July 5.

Mayor Anne Welch said the village is spending about $7,000 more this year to celebrate America 250 – the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

As in past years, donations will be accepted to help offset the cost.

Also

•Recreation Director Brendan McDermott announced the annual “Spring Fling & One Mile Fun Run for Kids” will take place Sunday, May 10. Details and a race registration can be found online at https://villageoflewistonny.gov/spring-fling.

•Trustees and department heads will begin reviewing the 2026-27 budget, with special meetings tentatively set for 5 p.m. Mondays, March 23 and 30, and April 6, in the mayor’s office.

Reassessment

Lewiston residents recently received a letter in the mail from the Town of Lewiston Assessor’s Office. The correspondence stated, in part:

“You are hereby notified in accordance with the requirements of Section 511 of the Real Property Tax Law of your preliminary assessment. New York state law requires all properties in each municipality to be assessed at market value or at a uniform level of assessment each year. To comply with the law and ensure that all property owners are assessed fairly and accurately, assessments throughout the Town of Lewiston have been reviewed and adjusted as necessary. …

“A change in your property's assessment does not necessarily indicate that your taxes will change. …

“The information … is for comparison purposes only. lt compares your prior year taxes to what they would have been had your 2026 assessment been in place. This is a hypothetical estimate based on prior year tax levies and does NOT represent your actual future tax liability.”

Welch said the Town of Lewiston is handling the update project, and residents can take advantage of a grievance day (May 26) if they disagree with their reassessment.

She explained, “This has happened before – way back when I was the clerk and we had a reassessment. Everybody panicked and said, ‘Oh, it’s going to cost me a fortune. My assessment’s going to go up.’ What happens is, when the assessments go up, the tax rate – the current tax rate – goes down, because everybody pays evenly – there’s not an up and down.

“We still have to collect the same amount of money for our budget, but I don’t think everybody’s going to get killed with it.”

She added, “Last time we did it, I think our tax rate was like $8 per $1,000 (of assessed valuation). With the reassessment back then, it went down to $3 per $1,000. So, it makes a big difference.

“Try not to panic on the reassessment. But if you have questions, I’m sure the town can help you with it, or the assessor’s office.”

In other news

•Trustees also voted in favor of setting a polling location for the 2026 election. Registered voters can cast their ballot from noon until 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Red Brick Municipal Building, 145 N. Fourth St.

•Finally, the board adopted a resolution concerning the Lewiston Fire Co. No. 1 length of service award program 2025 certified points program.

The text noted the village is the LOSAP sponsor, on behalf of Lewiston Fire Co. No. 1, in accordance with Article 11-A of the New York State General Municipal Law (GML). As required by GML § 219-a(2)(c), Lewiston Fire Co. No. 1 submitted a list of active members, indicating those volunteers who earned at least 50 points in 2025 to qualify for service credit. This measure required the Village Board to review and approve the list, and then return it to LFC to be posted for 30 days.