Property Assessments Soar, But Tax Burden Should Remain Steady, Officials Say
- Philip Thibodeau
- 9 hours ago
- 5 min read
Municipal revaluation is the process of updating the values of all real estate holdings in a given town. Connecticut law requires that each town in the state conduct a revaluation every five years – and that every tenth year, the revaluation involve a personal inspection of each property. This requirement aims to ensure that each town’s ‘grand list’ – a document that lists the values of all real estate holdings, as well as vehicles and business equipment – stays up to date and accurate. This is not just a matter of tidy bookkeeping: as Board of Finance Chair John Leary stresses, it is designed to make sure that the taxes on those properties are being fairly assessed.
This year Southington was required to undertake a tenth-year revaluation. The first signs of the effort became visible over the summer, when reports sprang up on social media of unknown individuals taking photographs of residential properties. In the vast majority of cases, the individuals in question were employees of Municipal Valuation Services, the vendor hired by Southington to conduct its revaluation. Part of that job involved sending out inspectors to verify all the details of the property record that are visible from the outside.
After collecting and compiling all relevant information, Municipal Valuation Services created an estimate of the market value of every property, then calculated from that its assessed value, which is 70 percent of the market value.
That work is now complete. This week Southington property owners should begin receiving notices in the mail from Municipal Valuation Services that show, among other things, the assessment made five years ago, along with a new, preliminary valuation.
The new valuations are likely to look very different from the old ones. While specifics are not yet available, everyone expects the assessed values of most real estate properties in Southington to have risen sharply.
Town Officials: Don’t Panic
Since 2020, the average market value for residential properties in the state of Connecticut has risen by about 58 percent due to a variety of factors, including increased demand and a shortage of new supply. This increase has been a source of acute frustration for first-time home-buyers, who have found it challenging to find a place they can afford. Conversely, many property-owners, especially those with significant equity in their homes, have watched their net worth climb.
Yet the increased valuations can also be a source of worry for property owners. After all, if a home’s value soars while local property tax rates stay the same, one would expect the tax bill to soar as well.
The governing body tasked with preventing such a tax spike is Southington’s Board of Finance. Members of the Board are committed to keeping the tax bills for properties that have not changed much in the past five years close to what they had been. “We all live in Southington,” says newly-elected Board member Katie Wade, “and we all want to keep taxes as low as possible, especially for seniors and people on fixed incomes.”
The way the Board can do this is by changing the mill rate. A town’s mill rate is just the tax rate for properties multiplied by 1,000. Southington’s current mill rate, 32.8, represents a tax rate of 0.0328 – that is, 3.28 percent. Each spring the Board of Finance decides on a mill-rate for the coming fiscal year. When property values rise, the Board can trim the rate to keep tax bills in check. For example, if the total value of Southington’s real estate grew by 100 percent and nothing else had changed, the Board of Finance could keep tax bills and tax revenue the same simply by cutting the mill rate in half.
“Even with revaluation, the Town is not looking for one penny more in taxes,” Leary says. “We are only trying to get out of that mill rate the same amount that we got last year.”
What Could Change
In fact, the actual process for setting the rate is bit more complicated – something which makes it hard to estimate at the moment what individual tax bills will look like in the fiscal year 2025-2026.
For one, when the Town government works on its finances, it decides on its budget first, and only then determines how to finance it. If a budget is approved that is larger than last year’s, then, assuming there is no additional revenue from vehicle taxes, fees, grants, state aid, or borrowing, and assuming the Town does not draw on its cash reserves, the difference must be made up by an increase in the mill rate. The way to keep property taxes down is not to advocate for a specific rate, Leary says, but to keep spending low. Both Wade and Leary encourage residents to attend Board of Finance meetings (including the next one on December 10) to learn more about the process and make their voices heard.
Secondly, while the Board of Finance has the power to keep the town-wide tax burden steady, it has no control over the valuation of individual properties. The point of a municipal revaluation is to see what changes to a property, if any, have occurred that might affect its market value. New outbuildings or additions, for example, can cause the value of a home to increase faster than the market average and result in a correspondingly larger tax bill; the opening of, say, a hazardous waste treatment facility next door might lead to a decrease in value and thus a lower bill.
Furthermore, revaluation is meant to take into account market trends. Housing types that are in demand, such as apartment buildings, may see an above-average increase in their market value. By contrast, the market for commercial estate has been relatively soft ever since the pandemic accelerated the trend toward remote work; it is possible, though again not assured, that once the new mill rate is set, the tax bills for some commercial properties may hold steady or even dip slightly.
One final wild-card is the amount of new development that has occurred in town over the past few years. If the construction of new housing and the opening of new businesses increases the grand-list without adding unduly to the town’s expenses, then, assuming everything else remains the same, the tax burden on residents should be reduced.
How To Appeal
The Town of Southington offers the following advice for property owners who wish to appeal the new assessments on the grounds that they are too high. As the statement implies, the burden is on the property owner to prove that the appraised value is too high by bringing forward objective evidence, meaningful comps, or expert opinion. It also sets a deadline for appeals, December 12, which is fast approaching:
“Municipal Valuations Services LLC (MVS), the firm conducting the Town's 2025 revaluation, will offer informal hearings for property owners wishing to discuss their new assessments. A change in value will be considered only if the owner demonstrates that the appraised value exceeds current market value. A recent independent appraisal is the strongest evidence.”
“Hearing officers may discuss market value only. They cannot discuss tax rates or estimated tax bills.”
“Hearings are by appointment only and must be scheduled no later than December 12, 2025.”
“Appointments may be made by calling (203) 292-5500, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or by scheduling online at the website provided in the assessment notice.”
“Property owners with questions about the notice or the revaluation process are encouraged to participate in the informal hearing process or contact the Assessor's Office for additional information.”