“The state’s stagnant economy helped decrease assessed home values by about 25 percent — and more on [Ansonia’s] West Side…” These were the words written by CT Post journalist Michael Mayko in a piece written about Mayor Cassetti’s first campaign against the incumbent Mayor, James DellaVolpe, in 2013.
2012 was the last state mandated property assessment. During this time, the average home value in Connecticut was $210,000. This is a massive loss from the 2007 revaluation, in which the average home value in Connecticut was $265,000.
Because of the massive loss in property value in 2012, the City of Ansonia’s administration had no choice but to raise taxes to make up for that loss in value. The United States housing bubble burst, and property values started to decline in 2007, reaching devastating lows in 2012. The city’s grand list fell between $300,000 and $400,000, and this major loss was not uncommon amongst the rest of the country. Taxes were rising left and right to make up for this loss in value.
Thankfully, with this most recent revaluation that was conducted on October 1, 2017, property values have been returning back to their prime. As of October 2017, the average home price in Connecticut was $235,000. With this increase, however, comes more taxes.
You see, when the property values fell, taxes had to increase to make up for this loss in value. The way the property tax system works is with what is called a mill rate. To calculate property taxes, the property’s value is multiplied by the mill rate and then divided by 1,000. For example, a property with an assessed value of $100,000 with a mill rate of 20 mills would have a property tax bill of $2,000 per year. In 2013, Ansonia’s mill rate was 38.61. As of fiscal year 2019, the mill rate is sitting at 37.32.
Falling property values means an increased mill rate. It is one of the only ways for a municipality to recoup tax revenues when something as devastating as what happened in 2012 happens. However, with property values rising substantially, a municipality can also lower a mill rate to keep taxes at the same rate. If the mill rate is not lowered when property values increase, then a city administered tax increase occurs.
Ansonia’s mill rate has not decreased. Those tax increases that are now on the back of taxpayers because of revaluation is nothing more than a tax increase at the city level, with the façade of making the State of Connecticut look like the antagonist.
There is no need to look any further than the State of Connecticut’s own publication on the revaluation process. To quote this publication, “[This publication] shows how the town could reduce the mill rate and still generate the same amount of taxes when the property’s fair market value increases.”
As I said in my last article, transparency in the City of Ansonia is key. The misconception that this is all the State of Connecticut’s fault and the city can’t combat these tax increases is just pure falsification.
The truth of the matter is that the city has the power to lower the mill rate and keep taxes stable, but instead is intentionally choosing to raise taxes.
The writer, a 2015 graduate of Ansonia High School, is currently serving in the US Marine Corps. His opinions and viewpoints are strictly his own and not the viewpoints of the Department of Defense.
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