Geese get Golisano's goat as billionaire businessman withholds $90K in school tax payment

Billionaire businessman Tom Golisano is challenging his tax assessment again, this time at his Ontario County home on Canandaigua Lake.

The Paychex founder is withholding his September school tax of $90,000, pending help from the town of South Bristol with what he says is a significant geese problem.

At a news conference at the Golisano Foundation office in Perinton, Golisano talked about up to 200 geese at his property on the shoreline of the lakefront home.

"It's a battle that needs to be fought," Golisano said.

His 2,900 square-foot home in South Bristol has 850 feet of lake frontage. Golisano has owned the property since 1999 and his annual taxes are $132,000. At its current state, Golisano said his property is unusable with the amount of waste produced by the birds. He has tried to work with the town to no avail, he said.

"I have always believed that government has a responsibility to protect people," Golisano said. "We are not just talking about a few geese who occasionally land for lunch. We are talking about up to 200 geese at a time that refuse to leave."

Valary Muscarella, South Bristol town assessor, referred questions to town supervisor Dan Marshall. A phone call to Marshall was not immediately returned.

Golisano talked about how he spent over $200,000 in legal fees on the assessment of his Mendon home to fight what he deemed to be an unfair tax assessment. State Supreme Court Justice John Ark in 2014 directed that the valuation be lowered to $1,892,070 on his 39-acre property, a 37 percent reduction of the property's $2,989,450 valuation. In 2009, Golisano announced he was becoming a Florida state resident to flee high taxes in New York state.

Golisano urged other area residents to stand up against unfair taxation. While they may not be able to hire an attorney, residents may talk to their elected officials, he said. 

Western New York traditionally has the highest property taxes based on assessed value, Golisano added. He pointed to property tax laws that favor New York City residents, highlighting his wife Monica Seles' condo in New York assessed at $800,000 where she pays about $4,000 in annual taxes. In towns in Monroe County, a single-family home assessed at $800,000 would be around $28,000 in annual property taxes, he said. The reality is actually higher than Golisano's estimate. In Monroe County, a home assessed at $800,000 would mean annual property taxes of $32,000 to $35,000, depending on the town, according to Davide Salafia, Realtor at ReMax Plus in Brighton.   

"If our taxes were lower, our property values would be higher," Golisano said.

Golisano is hoping the town of South Bristol will help resolve the geese problem without shifting the problem to other property owners along the lake. If the town cannot help, he plans an assessment challenge based on the the alleged lower value. The assessment hearing process is in May of each year. 

Golisano's property taxes in Mendon were reduced from $200,000 to $60,000 annually after his court battle. His daughter's home in Victor had its property taxes reduced from $100,000 to about $40,000 after a legal challenge was launched.

MCHAO@Gannett.com