Lakewood and Busti residents are seeing another sizeable tax assessment decrease coming their way starting next year.

Three years of litigation over the tax assessment for Brookdale Senior Living Solutions came to an end in late February in state Supreme Court when attorneys representing Brookdale and the town of Busti agreed to new assessments for the complex located at 220 Southwestern Drive.

Brookdale had contested its tax assessments for 2021 and 2022. Those $3,750,000 assessments won’t change. The 2023 assessment of $3.75 million was also contested. That assessment will be lowered to $400,000, though unlike prior assessment reductions involving Busti, Lakewood and the Southwestern Central School District and the Chautauqua Mall there will be no refund for 2023 taxes.

“Refunds of taxes, interest and costs are waived for the 2023 assessment year in consideration for future year reductions set forth herein,” wrote state Supreme Court Justice Grace Hanlon in her order.

Because the town’s valuation is not 100% current, the agreement uses equalization rates to arrive at a full market value. For 2024, 2025 and 2026, Brookdale’s tax assessment will be based on a full market value of $597,015 for the 2024 tax year multiplied by the state-approved equalization rate. The full market value for 2025 and 2026 will be $3 million multiplied by the equalization rate for the 2025 and 2026 tax years. There is a three-year moratorium on additional tax assessment challenges by Brookdale, though if the final tax roll through 2026 increases Brookdale’s assessment to more than the agreed-upon moratorium assessment, the senior housing agency can file another challenge to enforce the agreement. The only way the assessment can increase is if the town undertakes a townwide property reassessment.