The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Florsheim: Grand list growth good for taxpayers
MIDDLETOWN — Although the city’s grand list grew this past year at half the rate of that in 2019, city officials were pleased to see it rise despite challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 grand list increased by $44.2 million, or 1.25 percent, over last year. And last year’s was up by $85 million, or 2.5 percent, from the year before that, according to Assessor Damon Braasch.
“All things considered, this is good for the municipality,” he said.
Mayor Ben Florsheim noted that a growing grand list would lessen the burden on taxpayers.
“This is the way we bring in money to pay for services and deliver those services,” Florsheim said. “The stronger and healthier grand list we have, the more revenue we’re bringing in, which means a lower rate for taxpayers … and the less burden it is on the individual taxpayers to keep the city moving in the right direction.”
The list, an aggregate valuation of taxable property in town, is used to determine local property taxes, which are measured in mills. One mill represents $1 of tax on every thousand dollars of taxable property value. The current tax rate is 35.80 mills, a slight decline from 36 mills the prior fiscal year.
“We are now in budget season again, hoping to keep things mostly as they are, knowing we’ve got a lot of new expenses and unexpected costs triggered by the pandemic,” the mayor said.
Residents will notice the difference in their July tax bill, Braasch said.
Used and new cars were in short supply last year because of decreased production during the pandemic. “Those that were available drove the value of remaining vehicles up,” Braasch said.
Once the 2021-22 municipal budget is ratified by the Common Council on or before May 15, the deadline defined by city charter, the tax rate will be set.
There was a “huge spike” in personal property reflected in the last grand list, Florsheim said. Most came from personal property and motor vehicles. “That was an anomaly in a good way, because it meant the economy in Middletown was growing. The takeaway from this year is it’s still growing.
“It’s a little bit slower than the year before, but it’s consistent with what had been seen in the three or four years prior to 2019,” he said. “Given the economic pressure we’re under, given the
“We are now in budget season again, hoping to keep things mostly as they are, knowing we’ve got a lot of new expenses and unexpected costs triggered by the pandemic.” Mayor Ben Florsheim
circumstances that are going on in the rest of the country, I was pleased to see that level of growth.
“We need to continue to keep our eye on the ball,” Florsheim said.
Middletown is doing better than some other comparably sized municipalities, which reported about a 1 percent increase in their grand lists in 2020, Braasch said.
Taxable personal property includes the acquisition of computers, office furniture and other equipment by business owners. Braasch was “very concerned” purchases would fall because of companies that closed temporarily or shut down completely during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“That was predominantly true,” Braasch said. However,larger entities, such as FedEx, Aetna and Eversource, maintained their buying levels, he said.
There were more than 1,300 fewer registered motor vehicles on the list this year as compared to 2019, when the total assessment was more than $15 million higher, the assessor said. There are between 34,000 and 35,000 vehicles in Middletown.
Similarly, there were increases in the grand lists of every city fire department: the city district had a net increase of $20.7 million, (1.5 percent); South Fire’s went up $17.6 million (1.5 percent), and Westfield Fire had a net boost of $5.8 million (0.05 percent).
There are many economic development project in works over next few years, and soon, FedEx Ground’s five-year tax abatement will end, the mayor said. “There are some good indicators in there that we have continued upward trends to look forward to,” he said.