Cordelia Thorpe (pictured) asked city bureaucrats for financial relief on account of bullets flying through Dixwell. Others questioned the senior tax plan.
Did recent property revaluations in the Dixwell neighborhood, which boosted property values and therefore taxes, take into account “the fact that we can’t sit on our front porches for the gunshots?” Thorpe asked city bureaucrats Tuesday, one short week before aldermen vote on the city budget. “We should get some relief because we can’t sit outside.”
The answer from Acting City Tax Assessor David Ambrose (pictured at left of photo), at a meeting Tuesday night at the Wexler-Grant school, was yes. He called gunshots an example of “external obsolescence” and said desirability is one of the factors that’s considered when doing property revaluations. “Neighborhood adjustments have been taken into consideration,” he said. But Thorpe was disappointed to learn that it had already been factored in, and therefore she would not be seeing a lower tax bill for raising it.
Their meeting came one week before aldermen are scheduled to vote on the mayor’s proposed $445.2 FY07-08 budget, which is expected to be shaved down to require a 6 to 7 percent tax hike. (Click here and here for background on the city budget.)
Ambrose explained that the assessor’s job is not to create the market, but rather to reflect value. He said the city values 27,000 properties, and uses the sale of many properties in each neighborhood to set the values.
Houses in Dixwell and Fair Haven — two of the city’s poorest neighborhoods — increased in value, percentage-wise, more than those in other parts of the city. Paul Nu√ɬ±ez (pictured), mayoral Deputy Chief of Staff, tried to put a positive spin on that fact. “It’s a great thing,” he said, “because it shows that New Haven as a whole is a great city to live in. Housing values are higher than they used to be, so your house is worth more. The negative side is that when your house is worth more, you pay more in taxes.”
The meeting was organized by Lisa Hopkins (pictured with Ambrose, above), head of a Dixwell homeowners’ association. She had invited Ambrose, Nu√ɬ±ez (sitting in for Mayor John DeStefano), new 22nd Ward Alderman Greg Morehead, mayoral candidate James Newton, and Gary Doyens, who lives in Westville (“the working class section of Westville,” he said), one of the most well-informed and active New Haveners on the issue of city finances. That comes from years of attending alderman finance committee meetings, he said.
Senior Tax Plan Draws Skeptics
Doyens (pictured on the right with Alderman Greg Morehead) said he was glad seniors over 70 years of age are getting a break on their taxes, but he pointed out that that $1 to $2 million in lost revenue would have to be made up by the rest of the city’s property taxpayers. He said in his case, his taxes have risen from about $4,000 in 2003, when he bought his house, to about $5,600 after the revaluation. Click here for his comment about consequences of the increase.
One audience member asked why the age at which seniors can qualify for the tax freeze was set at 70, and not younger. Nu√ɬ±ez replied that it was state-mandated. They also must have incomes of $50,000 or less and have lived in the city for at least 10 years. Seniors with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 may get a deferral for the increased property taxes. “Deferment does not mean it’s free,” Hopkins cautioned.
When a senior either sells his or her house or dies, the accrued tax deferment would come due, explained Nuñez.
Several people expressed concern about what happens in the latter case, when a person dies but the house isn’t sold. Would heirs lose the house if they were unable to pay the city lien attached for deferred taxes? Click here for a dialogue between Hopkins and Nu√ɬ±ez, in which he answers some questions, but does not explain that lingering question.
The Board of Aldermen is set to vote on the proposed budget on Tuesday, May 29.