First Selectman And Town Accessor Set Evening Office Hours For Revaluation Queries

By John Voket

First Selectman Pat Llodra and Town Assessor Chris Kelsey will be available during a set of early evening extended office hours specifically to respond to, or discuss residents’ issues about, the latest property revaluation. Real property owners should have begun receiving data mailers from the town’s vendor this week.

The mailers, from Vision Government Solutions, request property owners to provide the information requested to “help verify information against current real property records,” Mr Kelsey previously told The Bee.

The 2012 revaluation is now in progress, which will effect the 2013 tax bills, the assessor said.

Mrs Llodra said that she and Mr Kelsey will make themselves available for property owners at the Newtown Municipal Center from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Monday, August 6, and Wednesday, August 8. Finance Director Robert Tait will also be on hand to address any pertinent concerns.

The first selectman said that property owners not available to attend either of these special sessions are welcome to make a personal appointment with the assessor, finance director, and/or first selectman to have questions answered. She said additional extended hours are planned for October and November, once the property information has been collected and updated valuations assigned.

The assessor has also established a “Reval Frequently Asked Questions” link on the department’s website that provides specific answers to queries about the town’s vendor, Vision, what a revaluation is, how to prepare for an assessment appeal hearing, and a number of other important points about the process.

Access the Assessor’s page off the “Town Departments” tab at newtown-ct.gov.

Mrs Llodra said this will be the continuation of extended office hours she initiated during the late stages of this year’s budget process.

“We’ll be continuing these sessions on an as needed basis, and will include department specific officials in the event citizens want to have any discussions at length about their concerns,” Mrs Llodra said. “When these data mailers begin arriving, we don’t want residents to start getting anxious, so Chris Kelsey, Bob Tait, and I will be available to talk about the process.”

Mrs Llodra said the officials will not be able to talk about the revaluation outcomes at this time, but will be available again once the revaluation numbers have been calculated.