12:00: Retired judge on concerns about an imbalance of power at the federal level
1:00: Reassessing assessments: the state of the local home assessment process
United States Chief Justice John Roberts recently took the extraordinary step of issuing a public statement to rebuke a sitting president. Roberts was responding to President Trump's calls to impeach a judge whose decisions he does not like. This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Congress has the power to shut a court down; he said that extraordinary times could call for extraordinary measures. We discuss the moves to shift power to the executive, away from the courts. In studio:
- Hon. Richard A. Dollinger, New York Court of Claims Judge (ret.)
Then in our second hour, late last week — after much public outcry — Brighton cancelled its town-wide property reassessment for 2025. As reported by WXXI News, the town could not accommodate hundreds of challenges raised by homeowners, with some residents seeing their home values double. Over in Gates this week, town leaders are holding two public information sessions about its reassessment process. In Henrietta, Town Supervisor Stephen Schultz has been answering homeowners' questions about assessments, the rise in home prices, and concerns about the shifting tax burden. Schultz says the assessment process as a whole needs to be changed. What questions or concerns do you have? This hour, we discuss how assessments work, property tax laws, and what homeowners need to know. Our guests:
- Brian Sharp, investigations and enterprise editor for WXXI News
- Gino Fanelli, investigations and City Hall reporter for WXXI News
- Stephen Schultz, Henrietta town supervisor
*Note: "Connections" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
