Shelton’s Grand List decreased nearly 15 percent in the past year, Mayor Mark Lauretti announced in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
The list, which combines the assessed value of all taxable property in the city and is used to set the property tax rate every May, had a value of $4.47 billion as of Oct. 1, 2011, down nearly $769 million since last year.
The biggest driver of the decrease was real estate in the city, the value of which went down 17.7 percent, or $821.9 million.
During his budget address earlier this month, Lauretti said the drop was largely due to the city undergoing a property revaluation last year.
The mayor said other cities and towns that went through property revaluations saw similar decreases.
“This is not unique to Shelton,” he said to reporters after his budget speech.
One difference, he noted, is that commercial and industrial property in the city didn’t drop in value as precipitously as residential properties.
“What is different, a departure from the past three revaluations where the property value burden has shifted from commercial to residential, now reverses itself to greater impacts on the commercial and industrial properties and less to our residential properties,” Lauretti said.
So while the mayor’s budget proposal would increase the city’s property tax rate from 18.57 mills to 21.85 mills, or 17.7 percent, since most houses decreased in assessed value by a greater percentage, Lauretti estimated that 95 percent of Shelton homeowners will see the actual amount they pay in taxes decrease if his budget proposal is adopted by the Board of Aldermen.
The breakdown of real estate values on the list is:
- Residential: $2.9 billion, down 20.7 percent from $3.7 billion last year
- Commercial: $650 million, down 3.9 percent from $676.6 million
- Industrial: $161.2 million, down 10 percent from $179 million
- Apartments: $62.1 million, down 10.7 percent from $69.5 million
- Public Utility: $28.1 million, down 0.3 percent from $28.2 million
- Vacant Land: $10.7 million, down 33.1 percent from $15.9 million
- Land Use: $1.5 million, down 17.4 percent from $1.8 million
Over the past year the value of personal property owned by businesses increased just over $34 million, up 11.2 percent. There was also an increase in the value of motor vehicles: $18.9 million, or 6.5 percent.
Also released Wednesday was a list of the city’s Top 10 taxpayers and the assessed value of their taxable property in the city:
- Robert Scinto, $240.3 million
- United Illuminating Co., $55.9 million
- Pitney Bowes Inc., $50.1 million
- Aquarion Water Company, $36.5 million
- Health Net of California Real Estate Holdings Inc., $33.4 million
- Blakeman Construction LLC, $26.6 million
- RA710 Bridgeport Ave LLC, $18.5 million
- Armstrong Park Associates, $18.3 million
- Shelton Square Limited Partnership, $16.8 million
- BIC Consumer Products Manufacturing, $15.5 million
View the press release below:
