A Taxing Concern
To the Editor:
I call bull ... on the front page article by Jim Taylor on 2 December that said that the actual increase on the tax bill will be a 0.8% increase, though assessed property values went up by 42-45 percent.
I say that because the last time my property’s assessed value went up in 2018 by 11.8 percent, my property taxes went up by 13.1 percent. That’s a matter of record. From $6,895 in 2017 to $7,795 in 2018.
So I don’t believe the town is going to hold the tax increase to just 0.8 percent. But, assuming that a 0.8 percent is true, why is the town taking advantage of the property re-evaluation to raise the tax rate? It should be a zero percent increase.
How about some real investigative reporting on how the town has been fleecing its residents and will continue to do so until enough people call bull...
Gregory L. Taylor
Newtown
Editor’s Note: Associate Editor Jim Taylor’s reporting was spot on, as he related that Tax Assessor Kathy Brown and Finance Director Robert Tait’s assertion that the latest revaluation will not necessarily correspond to a large increase in property taxes for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The 0.8 percent increase referred to in this letter was an example tied to a very specific comparative calculation provided by these town officials, not Taylor.
Well – the townspeople voted to increase spending. Most of Newtown’s funding for that spend comes from property owners. That’s the reason we’ll be paying more taxes. There was a great deal of focus on the mill rate and keeping it down – which does have some positive effect on property values if it presents an improved tax situation relative to other towns. But, it is not the mill rate alone that matters. It’s the propagation of that mill rate against property values. In the end, we’re paying more tax, spending more and we should be carefully assessing what we get for the added spend when we cast our votes.
The headline and story were a bit misleading. The ‘real’ story should have included the reason for a revaluation in a year that saw a pandemic- inspired rush to Newtown, bidding up the prices of the small houses. My street saw 13 houses turn over at inflated prices. As the assessed home values increased, the percentage of tax burden must increase as the total value of the grand list increases. But this also means that the tax burden decreased for some portion of the grand list (commercial property?) in order to spread out the load. Do not forget what is coming – CAR TAX.
We stand by our reporting on this story. As far as the ‘real’ story idea is concerned, The Bee welcomes suggestions for coverage from residents and readers willing to actually put their names to their ideas. Story suggestions including legitimate contact information of the individual for clarification – not publication – can be sent with confidence to editor@thebee.com.
There is no issue with Mr. Taylor’s reporting as I see. The ‘real story’ is that the information provided by the town officials is confusing and does not match the math provided. Indeed, documents on the town website are equally confusing. Looking forward to a ‘follow-up report’ that makes the tax implications clear(er).
Respectfully responding to the Editor’s note, there were some factual inaccuracies in Mr. Taylor’s reporting that are in line with some general confusion about all of this. I will send you an email directly.
The Editor has arranged a point-by-point review of our report with the officials involved. It appears from preliminary review, however, that each point of contention was articulated to The Bee by town officials, not created by our associate editor and author. A follow-up report, including any corrections or clarifications – if necessary – will appear in The Newtown Bee in the coming weeks.
I have been hearing it all over town. Everyone is complaining about taxes going up. The sad fact is that they will always go up, the town will always need new pretty Sterling Trucks, no Chevys for Newtown, and the town will always need improvements. I just wish that those concerned about their taxes would support projects that will increase the grand list for the town. If we keep saying no to every warehouse, housing development, and property improvement we will continue to carry the burden. The nice green open space everyone wants costs tax revenue.
Most of our property taxes go to pay for the school system. The town side of the budget is dwarfed by the BoE budget and always gets squeezed. Yet we would never consolidate schools when we can. Rather we pay $8 million for HVAC in an unneeded school.
It sickens me to think about all of the unnecessary costs that are put into Hawley School. We should have “temporally” closed Reed school back in 2010. SHES should never have been rebuilt except the town didn’t have to pay, although we all pay each day now to maintain. At the least, I thought Hawley had a chance to be closed but apparently, people must not really care about how much they pay in taxes. Now ten years from now we will probably talk about closing Hawley but the argument would then be … we spent so much money on it. The annual births in town are down 36%. Speaking directly to Hawley school, Elementary school enrollment was its highest around 2005 at 2,010… it has been on a steady decline for the last 15 years to a low of almost 1,100 and is currently at 1,370.