Rochester, N.Y. – Kodak is petitioning state supreme court to get the City of Rochester to lower the property assessments of its major properties by 26 percent.
The city recently reassessed all properties. Kodak says the city overvalued 16 of its major properties, including the headquarters building on State St. The city assessed those properties at $66.5 million. Kodak said they should be assessed at $49.3 million.
According to city financial reports, Kodak was the second-largest single property taxpayer in the city in 2011. Kodak’s property was assessed at $73 million, accounting for 1.3 percent of the total taxable assessed value in the city.
The amount of money Kodak has paid in property taxes has declined significantly in the last decade. In 2002, Kodak’s property was assessed at $140.8 million. Since then, the company has torn down and vacated many buildings.
Kodak filed for bankruptcy on January 19. The company had no comment on the legal action.
Kodak pays the city about $3.5 million a year in property taxes. The mayor said the worst has already happened and he's more concerned with the fate of Eastman Business Park.
