DERBY – About 250 homeowners, or 8 percent of all residential properties in the city, saw their property assessments increase by at least 100 percent, according to revaluation data shared to the City of Derby website.
Only one residential property – a rundown house owned by the city at 196 Hawkins St. – saw a decrease in its assessment.
Derby is going through a revaluation of all properties, a state-mandated action to distribute the tax burden fairly.
It means the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation will have a new set of data when it begins to review a budget this year.
In Connecticut, property owners can calculate taxes by multiplying the assessed value by the mill rate, and then diving by 1,000.
The increase in assessments does not guarantee a tax increase for everyone. But, given the number of residents seeing large assessment increases, people are concerned, at least on social media.
Derby Finance Director Speaks
At a Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen meeting on Jan. 8, finance director Brian Hall talked about the challenges revaluation poses to the city’s annual budget, which is adopted every spring.
He said the revaluation data shows the average property saw a 61 percent assessment increase. That includes all types of properties, not just residential.
The reval data is based on current market conditions, he told Derby elected officials.
“When we (say) current market conditions, we mean actual sales that occur in your streets and neighborhoods,” Hall said.
The sale data is also posted on the City of Derby website.
Hall said an effort was made to keep the revaluation market rate number below the actual sale data.
“There was an effort made to try to adjust things as much as are allowed to from an assessor’s standpoint,” Hall said.
The finance director said he is aware of the unease among people over the revaluation.
“Obviously we need to decrease the mill rate,” he said. “I know a lot of people are concerned. They saw their new market value and they assume the mill rate is not going to change and now (their) taxes will double because (the assessment) is up 100 percent. That’s not going to happen,” Hall said.
How much the mill rate could be lowered is not yet known. The annual budget process is just starting.
Hall noted lowering the mill rate could be a double-edged sword. Right now Derby has a mill rate that exceeds the state’s mill rate cap on motor vehicles.
The state’s motor vehicle mill rate cap is 32.46, while Derby’s mill rate is 43.2.
As a result, the state sends Derby about $1.2 million in aid to compensate Derby for the taxes the city is not collecting on motor vehicles. That aid will disappear if Derby lowers the mill rate to 32.46 or less.
Hall said lowering the mill rate will also probably result in smaller personal property tax bills for small businesses, resulting in an estimated tax revenue loss for the city of possibly $1 million.
Combining personal property and motor vehicle revenue declines, Hall said the potential for Derby to start budget talks with $2 million less than the city had last year is a possibility.
Hall said ideally a municipality will raise taxes by 2 percent or so annually in order to keep up with inflation. The reval is complicating the issue, Hall said.
Tax Hike Two Years Ago
Derby raised the mill rate by 4.6 mills, or roughly 11 percent, in April 2024. Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s administration said the mill rate increase was needed because of bad budgeting practices by prior administrations.
In 2024, state lawmakers allowed Derby to delay the revaluation process for one year, a move that caused concern among area Republicans.
There was no mill rate increase in Derby in 2025.
According to the new revaluation data, a single-family, three-bedroom, two-bath house at 246 Hawthorne Ave. saw its assessment increase from $112,000 in 2024 to $255,990 in 2025. That is an approximate 128 percent increase.
If the mill rate stays the same (43.2), property taxes on that house would increase from $4,838 per year to $11,058 per year.
If the mill rate drops to 33.2 and the rest of the budget remains the same, that house at 246 Hawthorne Ave. would still pay an additional $3,660 in taxes next year.
Two-family houses at 50 and 52 E St. saw a 156 percent increase in assessments.
Those properties are in west Derby, where another two-family at 199 Elizabeth St. saw a roughly 185 percent increase in assessment ($108,570 to $309,400).
Eight properties saw assessments increase more than 200 percent. Those properties are on Seymour Avenue, Great Hill Road, Hawkins, Derby Avenue, Baldwin Road, Ida Avenue and Clark Street.
Hall said the majority of residential houses with assessment increases of 100 percent or more were multi-family houses.
The average single-family house went up about 60 percent. Condos saw assessment increases of about 77 percent, Hall said.
Reaction
Gino DiGiovanni Jr., the chairman of the Derby Republican Town Committee, said Jan. 8 that the Democratic-controlled Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen pushed the reval out a year so that DiMartino could say there was no mill rate increase during an election year.
“Yet they did nothing to prepare for what’s coming,” DiGiovanni said. “They made the reval political by waiting.”
The Republican leader said the move mirrors what Derby has done for decades – raise taxes on non-election years, and then no tax increase during election years.
DiGiovanni said the steep increase in assessments guarantees a tax increase for many Derby residents. He said his westside house assessment went up by more than 50 percent.
“They’re not going to lower the mill rate 50 percent, it’s mathematically impossible. The housing market is inflated,” he said. “If your assessment is up 100 percent, there’s no way they will be able to drop the mill rate by 100 percent.”
DiGiovanni also said that not all unions in the city signed onto the new insurance plan, which could cost the city more money than expected.
Linda Fusco, Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s chief of staff, said Derby was supposed to have a reval in 2025, but then the state said it had to be 2024. The state then allowed Derby to stick to the original schedule, she said.
“Claims suggesting otherwise or implying improper intent behind the revaluation or tax rates, are not supported by the facts. It is important to note that prior decisions by the former administration included substantial tax breaks, which contributed to the financial challenges we inherited,” she said in an email to The Valley Indy.
Fusco said the DiMartino administration has been using honest budgeting practices to straighten Derby finances. The administration is looking for ways to bring more revenue in.
“As we move forward, we are developing a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the south side of Main Street, the extension of Fountain Lake Drive, and the revitalization of Derby’s central business district,” she said. “These efforts are aimed at strengthening the tax base, encouraging responsible development, and ensuring long-term financial stability for the City and its residents.”
Relief?
At the Jan. 8 Derby government meeting, Hall walked elected officials through the “homestead exemption,” a new program passed by state lawmakers.
The homestead exemption allows towns and cities to adopt an ordinance that provides tax breaks for owner-occupied residential properties.
The exemption allows the local government to exempt between 5 percent and 35 percent of a property’s assessed value. The homestead exemption applies to owner-occupied single-family homes and duplexes, including condos.
Members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen did not take action on the homestead exemption at their Jan. 8 meeting. More discussion and details are expected to follow in the coming weeks, as Derby prepares a new budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Hall said a special meeting might be scheduled in Derby for Jan. 22 to talk more about the homestead exemption.
Residents can read Hall’s slide presentation to the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen by clicking this link and scrolling to page nine.
To Appeal Your Assessment
The city sent out a letter informing homeowners of their new assessments, as of Oct. 1, 2025. The letter also included the old assessment.
The revaluation was handled by eQuality Valuation Services, LLC.
The letter advised owners to set up an “informal telephone hearing” with the company if an owner spotted incorrect info.
However, residents had just five days to make the telephone appointment, and the letter was dated Christmas Eve.
The letter said “residential hearings” would be conducted by telephone from Dec. 31 until Jan. 15.
Residents can appeal their assessments directly by filing an appeal with the Derby Board of Assessment Appeals. A written form must be filed by Feb. 20, 2026.
Click here or here to access the written form.
Click here for more information on how to appeal your assessment.
If appealing to the city, it’s important to bring documentation of what you feel the reval got wrong, such as the square footage of the house or the number of rooms. A recent appraisal is helpful, if one exists.
In addition, it helps to look at similar properties (type of house, square footage). If a similar property to yours has a lower assessment, a resident can bring that as possible evidence to convince the board to lower the assessment of their property.