OWASCO - Like many Owasco residents, Mary Hennessey is in virtually the same position as last year when it comes to property assessments.

A small seasonal cottage on the east side of Owasco Lake has been in her family for about 100 years. After a town-wide reassessment last year, the property's value went up 150 percent, creating many problems for her mother, who owns the property.

"The taxes are ungodly," Mary Hennessey said.

Hennessey did what she could last year to help get the assessment lowered, including putting her complaint before the town's Board of Assessment Review and the Small Claims Assessment Review. Nothing brought relief.

"It was very discouraging last year," she said. "If everyone was being fairly assessed, we could live with it."

But she's going to go through the same process next year and took advantage of help being offered Sunday by a group of residents who launched a full-scale legal challenge against the town.

OwascoNews, a group of residents who united to get the town's 2004 assessment roll thrown out for vast inequities, held a meeting Sunday to explain the complicated process of grieving their assessments.

May 20 is the town's deadline for filing grievance paperwork, which can be obtained at town hall. OwascoNews Chair Nancy Taylor urged residents to not give up, even if they were unsuccessful last year.

"What we need to do is change our assessments," she said. "We know it's going to get worse."

OwascoNews is working on a larger scale to change the entire town's assessments. The group organized more than 50 property owners to file an Article 78 lawsuit challenging the methodology assessor Kim Stone-Gridley used to develop the 2004 roll.

The residents won a partial legal battle recently when state Supreme Court Judge Peter Corning ruled they would be able to go through discovery in the case and depose town officials. After discovery is complete, they expect a ruling from Corning later this summer.

"You never know what's going to happen if you go before a judge," Taylor said.

In the meantime, the group is collecting information from willing residents who may want to join another legal proceeding - an Article 7 - if their grievances are unsuccessful this year.

OwascoNews member Lou Contiguglia explained that the Article 7 would seek changes on individual properties that have been overassessed for things they do not have, like additions or certain utilities, or overassessed compared to similar properties. The Article 78 filed for last year asks for the entire 2004 roll to be thrown out and redone.

"(A joint Article 7) would bring to the court's attention the problem is not isolated," Contiguglia said.

Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net