Windsor Delays Revaluation

As seen at the Courant:

For the second consecutive year the town council has decided to delay implementation of annual property revaluation to try to put off a possible sharp increase in taxes.

As was the case last December, the council’s decision to wait another year was based on a preliminary analysis that shows a continued sharp increase in residential property values.

The analysis shows that from 2005 to 2006, median property values increased by 27 percent for single-family houses, 36 percent for condominiums, 39 percent for multi-family houses and 5 percent for commercial properties.

The article mentions that under state law, cities and towns in Connecticut have to periodically apply revaluations for property tax assessments. Under current law, Windsor has to apply a revaluation in 2008.

Apparently the Windsor town fathers are hoping that new developments coming on to the town’s grand list (new facilities for ING and The Hartford; the new Walgreens distribution facility, the subdivision being built 60 feet from my house…) will alleviate the valuation shock that will come.

I’m not holding my breath.

I still think that Connecticut needs to rethink the entire subject of town funding. Towns having to rely almost solely on property taxes doesn’t seem quite right.

I’d like to see the State Legislature consider a few options including:

• Allowing different mill rates for residential versus commercial properties, and for real estate versus other taxable property;
   
• Permitting towns the option of piggybacking off the state sales tax (as is done in some other states) in return for reducing the mill rates;
   
• Permitting towns the option of piggybacking off the state income tax (as is done in Maryland) in lieu of collecting some property tax; or
   
• Abolish the towns and restore the counties, adding some stability to the mix of residential vs. commercial property, and eliminating some redundancy that now exists among town services.

I’m not holding my breath on any of that either.

And, of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t wish for the town to seek creative solutions to budget inflation. For example, while there are indications that the town’s schools are possibly improving…shouldn’t we be seeing dramatic improvements given the magnitude of school budget creep?

Oh well, it’s Christmas time. It’s a time for making wishes, unrealistic though they may be.