CT PROPERTY TAX MINUTE: August 2011

First Regional Revaluation in Connecticut  

The Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (NECCOG), the principal regional planning organization for that area of the state, has orchestrated the first regional revaluation in Connecticut.

The General Assembly passed a law in 2009 allowing regional revaluation (General Statutes §12-62q, simplified recently by Public Act 2011-99). Tyler Technologies, Inc. has been hired to revalue the real property in a dozen towns over the next five years on a rolling schedule:

            October 1, 2011:      Ashford, Woodstock
            October 1, 2012:      Plainfield, Sprague, Sterling
            October 1, 2013:      Eastford, Killingly
            October 1, 2014:      Putnam, Thompson
            October 1, 2015:      Brooklyn, Canterbury, Pomfret

As part of this regional revaluation, some of the towns were permitted to delay their revaluations and others agreed to revalue early.  Structuring the revaluations in this way has allowed NECCOG to limit the number of parcels that must be revalued each year.  Where possible, participating towns will also stagger the physical inspections of properties within their bounds by inspecting only half of the properties every five years instead of all properties every 10 years.  This option meets the statutory requirement for physical inspections every 10 years and reduces administrative costs.  The savings are expected to be as high as 25 percent, and the program is being held up as a model for other communities.

In fact, the idea of other municipal collaborations is playing out in East Lyme and Waterford. These communities recently negotiated a joint contract with Vision Government Solutions to perform their revaluations as of October 1, 2011 and October 1, 2012, respectively, without changing their schedules.

We will continue to monitor regional revaluations in Connecticut with interest.

For more information, contact Laura A. Bellotti at 860-424-4309 or lbellotti@pullcom.com.