Revaluation
State Statutes require towns to periodically revalue all the real property within their borders. The purpose of revaluation is to update the values upon which taxes are based, so that taxes are fairly apportioned. (For instance, if condominium prices have fallen since the last revaluation and home prices in the center of town have risen, all values need to be updated in order to ensure that condominium owners are not paying more than their fair share of the taxes to support all of our town services.)
Branford is now conducting the full revaluation that will determine assessments for the next five years. The data collection phase of the revaluation project will be completed in late August or early September. Residential real estate owners will be receiving a "data mailer" in September.
Revaluation will determine values as of October 1, 2009, based on sales between October 1, 2008 and October 1, 2009. Owners of residential real estate should keep in mind that current values were determined as of October 1, 2004, based on sales between October 1, 2003 and October 1, 2004. The market for residential real estate continued to rise after that date, peaking in January 2008. The market has since fallen from its peak in January 2008, but does not appear to have fallen all the way back to 2003-2004 values. It is likely, therefore, that the values determined as of October 1, 2009 will be at least slightly higher than those currently in effect.
Having been through a revaluation during our previous administration, we understood the need to make the entire process much more transparent and open to homeowners. To that end, we:
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Involved the public in planning for the revaluation by setting up an oversight committee, with representatives of stakeholder groups in town, including neighborhood associations, condo associations, businesses. The committee made recommendations about how the revaluation will be conducted. And the revaluation process was designed taking those recommendations into account. |
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Required that the company conducting the revaluation use the criteria developed by the oversight committee and provide the Town with the information about how values were determined. Knowing how the value was determined will allow representatives of the Town to determine if a mistake was made. |
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Sought candidates for the Board of Assessment Appeals who understand valuation and will consider all the facts and make their decisions based on those facts. |
Once the revaluation is completed, we will make adequate resources available for the informal review stage so that taxpayer concerns can be heard and addressed before going to the Board of Assessment Appeals or to court. People will get better answers about how their assessment was determined.
No matter how fair and transparent the revaluation process is, exponential increases in taxes that come with the rising house prices that shoreline towns have experienced recently disrupt neighborhoods and families in stable communities. We are working with our local Senator and Representatives to help bring about real change in our property tax system in order to address these problems. |
