Revaluation Deferral Bill Awaits Malloy's Signature

Taxpayers Association President Harry Kraiza has called it Armageddon and many Town Council members have named it as a major concern for the town but Farmington looks close to deferring the effects of revaluation for one more year.

Legislation co-sponsored by State Rep. Bill Wadsworth, R-Farmington, that would allow Farmington, along with Norwich, Stamford, Windham and New Britain, to defer implementation of revaluation for one year has passed the House and Senate and is awaiting Gov. Dannel Malloy’s signature, Wadsworth said Monday.

The state of Connecticut mandates that real estate revaluation — the reassessment of market value of all property — is done every five years. Farmington’s last revaluation was done in 2007. Assessment employees have visited the majority of Farmington properties to verify the details and condition of properties and adjust their assessed values to bring them in line with the current market.

Unless the legislation passes, the values will be applied for the 2013 Grand List and because commercial property values especially have suffered in the past few years, the tax burden is likely to shift toward homeowners, council members have said.

“Revaluation will have a detrimental affect on our municipal budgets which will in turn affect residents,” said Wadsworth. “There is a built in four-to-five percent tax increase just as a result of this process. With our state’s current economy, this is just not the right time to place even more of a burden on our state’s municipalities and tax-payers. Giving municipalities the option to delay this procedure for a year will grant much fiscal relief to Farmington and other towns that are being threatened by the high cost and liability of revaluation.”

Passage of the legislation, House Bill 5424, would allow the town to wait one year before applying the new values.