It is not surprising that Groton's revaluation process turned ugly in the end. I applaud John Scott, a member of the Groton Town Council for trying to fix what is clearly broken. His efforts ended about the same way mine did over a year ago. In both Groton and Ledyard, revaluation dealt a heavier blow to moderately priced homes.
John wrote an editorial piece in the New London Day entitled "Groton's Phase in Decision Wrong and Blatantly Unfair." Due to a decision to phase in the 2006 revaluation, John points out that the "middle-of-the-road taxpayers" will end up paying more to subsidize the tax break.
In Ledyard, when the mil rate was set last June, taxes increased disproportionately for the average taxpayer. In some of Ledyard's highest priced neighborhoods, taxes were actually decreased, while in some moderate priced neighborhoods, taxes increased by over 20%
Revaluation is the process of estimating the Fair Market Value of your property for tax purposes. Starting in 2004, municipalities in Connecticut were required by state law to conduct a revaluation every 5 years. (At least one revaluation in each 10 years must be based on a physical inspection, the other can be what is known as a statistical revaluation.)
I was a brand new member of the Ledyard Town Council when the revaluation was completed. I hadn't found my voice yet. I spoke up but not as loudly as I should have. John spoke loudly but the majority of the Groton Town Council wasn't listening.
Keep fighting John. The next round is in 5 years.
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