How much Seymour taxes will increase under a proposed $52.56 million budget depends on where you live in town — and what kind of house you live in.
Those living in newer houses in the city’s hilltop areas are likely to see larger increases in their taxes than those living in the older sections of town near downtown. Multi-family homes in many cases are seeing decreases in taxes.
The reason: revaluation.
Seymour officials spent the bulk of a public hearing Thursday (March 29) explaining the intricacies of the revaluation to help residents understand what the changing property values mean for their tax bills. Click here to watch video from the meeting.
Revaluation takes a look at the value of all properties in town, and shifts the tax burden accordingly.
“This process makes it a fair, level playing ground,” First Selectman Kurt Miller explained at the start of the public hearing.
“It’s about shifting money and placing it into the proper buckets,” he said.
Article continues after document, which is a copy of Miller’s powerpoint presentation detailing the process and the effects.
Budget Hearing March 29th FINAL1
The Break Down
Under the town’s proposed budget for 2012 – 2013, most residents (about 76 percent) will see a tax increase.
About 24 percent of the residents will see a decrease in taxes.
The tax increases break down as follows:
- 35 percent will pay $0 to $200 more in taxes next year
- 20 percent will pay $200 to $400 more in taxes next year
- 4 percent will pay $400 to $500 more in taxes next year
- 11 percent will pay $500 to $1,000 more in taxes next year
- 6 percent will pay $1,000 or more in taxes next year
Board of Finance members stayed after the hearing with property lists for all of Seymour, to give residents specific information about how much their individual taxes would increase on the budget proposal.
The reason for the changes is that the town’s grand list dropped from $1.5 billion to $1.3 billion. The town’s tax rate has to be increased in order to generate the same amount of revenue next year.
The proposed budget would set the tax rate at 33.92 mills in 2012 – 2013.
So a taxpayer with a property assessed at $200,000 would see a tax bill of $6,784 next year.
The current tax rate is 25.52. However, for comparison sake, the town recalculated this year’s budget using next year’s grand list to come up with a tax rate of 31.95.
That means the 2012 – 2013 budget proposal would result in a tax rate increase of 1.97 mills.
The Budget Proposal
Of course, the budget proposal is just that — a proposal. Voters will have the final say when they vote at referendum on May 3. The town’s polling place will be at the Community Center, and residents can vote from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day.
Miller urged residents to support the proposal, which is about a 4.12 percent increase over current spending.
“I want you to give serious consideration to this budget,” Miller said.
The proposal includes initiatives to help make the town more efficient and catch up in places Seymour has been behind in past tough economic times, Miller said.
Those initiatives include a $40,000 human resources director, about $140,000 in IT services for the town, and about $27,000 for Emergency Management spending.
Click here to read a previous story with more details about Miller’s proposed initiatives.
Residents vote on the town and the school budget proposals separately.
Town Budget $16,351,381, a 4.45 percent increase over the current budget of $15,654,734
School Budget: $30,994,803, a 4.03 percent increase over the current budget of $29,794,803
The budget proposal also includes $175,000 for contingency costs, $50,000 for a senior citizen tax freeze and $100,000 for the capital reserve fund — a newly budgeted item.
Board of Education chairman and one member of the board, Kristen Harmeling, spoke in favor of the budget, urging residents to support education efforts.
The full Board of Education will host a separate meeting at 7 p.m. on April 16 to give residents a more detailed break down of where the money in its budget proposal will go.
“Hopefully you will support this budget and provide our students with the education they need,” Board of Education chairman Yashu Putorti said.
Click here to read more about the school’s budget proposal.
The hearing lasted about one hour. After town officials gave presentations, seven residents spoke during the public session. There were about 70 people in the audience.
Click here to read everything the Valley Indy has written about the Seymour budget proposal.
