Have you heard the old adage, “You can’t fight City Hall?”

Newtown resident Shawn Kasak appears to have elevated the practice to an art form.

But in his case, it is not a matter of engaging in some sort of competition in order to one-up an established bureaucracy. As a single parent who commutes hundreds of miles each week for work, he, like many others, counts every penny — especially when it comes to expenses related to his vehicles.

One of those expenses is the annual check he writes to cover his Connecticut motor vehicle taxes.

Because at least a couple of the vehicles he owns have excessive mileage along with wear and tear, another annual right of passage Mr Kasak engages in is spending valuable time trying to get some consideration for that excessive use in the form of reductions to his car taxes.

Over a period of several years — since before his frustrations over local vehicle tax assessments was first aired in a 2016 feature in The Newtown Bee (“Effort To Reduce Taxation Highlights Resident’s Assessment Appeals Process”), Mr Kasak has become well-known to staff in the Tax Assessor’s office as well as to members of Newtown’s Board of Assessment Appeals (BOAA), including former chairman James McFarland who has since left the board.

Such was the case in 2018, albeit, with an added dollop of difficulty.

A year earlier, Mr Kasak sought and received a tax adjustment for excessive mileage on his 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that had become more mechanically compromised and road worn after it crossed the 200,000 mile mark. Mileage adjustments are the responsibility of the Tax Assessor.

He has also typically sought and received additional nominal adjustments from the BOAA because of the deteriorated condition of certain vehicles, including the Tacoma. Relief for vehicle condition falls on the BOAA.

In 2017, the Tacoma was assessed at $8,090 and then reduced slightly for mileage before he went before the BOAA and it was reduced to $7,370 for its deteriorating condition.

Imagine his shock when Mr Kasak opened his 2018 tax bill and saw the battered Tacoma’s assessed value had jumped to $9,890 an increase value of $2,520.

So, after another visit to the assessor for a modest break for mileage, it was back to the BOAA on September 5, after which he received notice that the appeal would only lower the valuation to $9,468, representing an increased value of $2,098.

After penning a letter of complaint and reminding Mr McFarland of the prior year’s decision, the BOAA chair said he would review the appeal.

“This vehicle has not appreciated in the real world; its value will continue to depreciate in the real world,” Mr Kasak wrote in his post settlement message to BOAA Chairman James McFarland. “Basically, it is not worth more this year then it was last year. What is needed is for this to be corrected, and not year-to-year with a reduction and then an absurd increase the following year. But a permanent fix.”

How About A Ride?

Mr Kasak then asked to return to the BOAA in the hope of getting an adjustment that at least matched the 2017 settlement of $7,370. He even offered at one point to drive the rusting and wobbly pickup to the Municipal Center to give Mr McFarland a ride and to fully apprise him of its mechanical and physical deterioration.

“I need to fight the shake in the wheel as it pulls to the right. The torque converter in the truck is shot and causes the rear end to vibrate at 25 to 40 mile an hour speeds. The transmission is also on its way out. The truck needs two of its three [catalytic] converters replaced so it will pass its emissions test,” Mr Kasak wrote.

Unfortunately, Mr Kasak learned that once a final BOAA appeal is granted, there is no going back for more, at least in the same tax year.

The BOAA chairman’s follow up memo concluded, “You had an opportunity to appeal the assessment provided by the Assessor, and at that time, the Board of Assessment Appeals (the Board) approved some changes and denied others. Barring any mistakes, these decisions are final until the next tax year. If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Board of Assessment Appeals, you are free bring your appeal to Connecticut State Superior Court.”

In a subsequent note after Mr Kasak asked to resubmit evidence supporting the condition and value of the Tacoma, Mr McFarland responded, in part, saying: “New evidence will not be considered, as the hearing has passed.”

But Mr McFarland did discuss the issue with First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, who suggested there may be a way to retain information from prior BOAA settlements and to possibly make that a permanent benchmark so future appeals can start with the previously adjusted amount.

As the first selectman explained it to The Newtown Bee, every year, virtually all Connecticut tax assessors receive a comprehensive motor vehicle valuation program from the Virgina-based National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Newtown Assessor Penny Mudgett said each year, new valuations from the NADA replace the previous year’s numbers, and Connecticut assessors use these annual figures to calculate new vehicle assessments assuming average milage, which are then formulated to each municipality’s tax bills.

Lots Of Valuations

In Newtown last year, NADA valuations were used as the basis to tax approximately 27,000 vehicles.

While minutes and motions of each year’s BOAA actions are available, Mr Rosenthal said the volunteer BOAA members begin each year with “the slate wiped clean,” and they base each individual new appeal on that year’s NADA value as a starting point — even if a prior year value came in markedly lower than the current year, as in Mr Kasak’s case with the Tacoma. It should also be noted that elected membership on the BOAA can change every two years, so even memorable prior appeals may be lost on new board members.

To try and remedy the situation, Mr Rosenthal worked with Town Finance Director Robert Tait, and using Mr Kasak’s situation as an impetus, the first selectman is planning to initiate a new policy under which the assessor’s office each year will not only receive new NADA values, but will cross reference those values to the prior year’s vehicle appeals.

That way, the BOAA can enter into each applicable appeals process knowing the prior appealed value, and will use that amount as the starting point for each new tax year’s cap.

While Mr Kasak was responsible for eventually paying the adjusted tax on his deteriorating and aging Tacoma, going forward, he and any other Newtown residents in a similar situation will not be faced with the frustration and expense that could occur because of discrepancies between NADA values and the starting point Newtown’s BOAA is obliged to use when taxpayers seek appropriate and justified relief because they are driving mechanically declining and/or high mileage vehicles.

One thing is virtually certain, however. This June, when the new tax bills arrive, Mr Kasak will likely be back again, making his two-stage pilgrimage to visit the tax assessor to see about a mileage deduction, and to the BOAA — unless, of course, NADA somehow comes through producing more real world values for Connecticut’s and Newtown’s used vehicles.