William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman reports often in the Town of Catskill about corporations suing to lower their property assessments. Usually, no matter the strength of the argument, the town settles because it is cheaper then litigation to just give the corporations their way. The Price Chopper Plaza on Route 9W in Catskill is the latest to employ this tactic. "At a Town Board meeting Tue. [July 3], officials said the assessment will be reduced to $5,496,200 for the years 2012 through 2014," down from the original assessment of $5,696,200. In 2010, Catskill gave Wal-Mart a $1.67 million assessment reduction in a similar settlement, Kemble had previously reported. The settling-litigation-for-a-discount practice is so common, Kemble writes, "The town has an agreement with the Catskill school district to share the cost of defending assessment challenges. Earlier this year, the town received $26,112 toward $43,134 in legal costs associated with 11 assessment challenges during 2011." Kemble explains that, "Town Supervisor Joseph Leggio said it’s important to avoid lengthy court proceedings over the assessment. He said he is hopeful that other cases can be settled easily." One other case he might be referring to was mentioned at the Town meeting Tuesday. Town Assessor Nancy McCoy reported that the just-closed Holcim Cement plant is seeking to reduce its $10.14 million assessment to $3.36 million for the years 2008 through 2011, when it was still open for business. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.