We’ve all seen what’s happened to home prices throughout the area over the past several years.

Now, Busti residents are getting a look at what that housing market has done to their home values – and they’re not happy. Town residents spoke their minds for more than an hour at a Busti Town Board meeting last week. There’s not much the board can do. It’s unlikely the town will stop the process – though such a decision isn’t unprecedented.

The next step for property owners is to argue their case in May when the town holds its Grievance Day. But regardless of what happens on Grievance Day, there is no avoiding the fact that property values are going up. And this reassessment is the first time rising home prices in the region are hitting those who haven’t bought a home recently.

The ensuing sticker shock that has upset Busti residents is common for those who have owned their properties since before this hot real estate market. That market is driven in part by homes being bought for more than they were purchased for initially, renovated and then sold for even higher prices a second time. That’s been one factor in Jamestown in recent years. The problem with this scenario, particularly for longtime Busti residents, is that most Busti residents aren’t involved in the real estate investment market – they’re purchasing homes to live in. But the prices in the greater southern Chautauqua County housing market are also driving up Busti house prices and, by extension, property assessments when the town did its property reassessment.

Rising property values are great for the government because it allows municipalities to spread their tax levies over a broader tax base – meaning lower tax rates even as tax levies increase. That’s happened in the county as a whole over the past few budget cycles. There is one other way property owners can keep an eye on their tax bills if they aren’t happy with their new assessment, and that’s by engaging in the town’s budget process. A property’s tax assessment is only one-third of the information that determines your tax bill. The town’s tax levy is the next key component, and that number is finalized each fall. Limiting spending is the best way to limit the tax levy and, by extension, to keep property taxes on suddenly more expensive properties in check.