Grand List Increases by $50.7 Million; Top-10 Taxpayer Accounts

The total value of taxable property in New Canaan—including homes, commercial properties and motor vehicles—increased by $50.7 million from 2016 to 2017, according to preliminary figures. Given a mill rate of about 17, the year-over-year increase in funds for the town from the taxable property would come to about $861,000. The figure is nearly $500,000 less than it has been in recent years. The Grand List’s $8.3 billion total reflects upticks in the total value of taxable real estate and personal property and a slight decline in motor vehicles. Here’s a table that details year-over-year growth:

 

The Grand List measures the total value of taxable property on Oct.

Four More New Canaan Homeowners Seek Lower Property Assessments through Legal Filings

The town has received four more lawsuits from homeowners appealing to the courts recent decisions to leave their property assessments unchanged following initial appeals in March. A total of 77 property owners appeared before the Board of Assessment Appeals through five hearings in March to make their cases following the Oct. 1, 2016 Grand List valuation. Of those, 25 saw a reduction in their assessments, ranging from $7,000 to $243,000. The town earlier this month received one appeal state Superior Court in Stamford, from a Ponus Ridge homeowner.

Ponus Ridge Homeowner Appeals Assessment in Court

The town last week received a civil summons from the owners of a Ponus Ridge home, seeking a reduced assessment of their property. Filed May 2 on behalf of the owners of 1480 Ponus Ridge by attorneys at Stamford-based Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky, LLP, the citation calls for town officials to appear later this month in state Superior Court in Stamford. According to the legal notice, the property’s owners had sought “relief against a wrongful assessment of real property for taxation” but no change in valuation was made after appearing before the Board of Assessment Appeals. Town records show that 77 property owners appeared before the board through four hearings in March. The Ponus Ridge homeowners’ property—a nearly 10,000-square-foot, 2007-built home on 3.24 acres—was valued at about $6.6 million, meaning its assessed value (70 percent of that figure) was about $4.6 million following an Oct.

New Canaan Grand List Up $85.3 Million; Top-10 Taxpayer Accounts

The total value of taxable property in New Canaan—including homes, commercial properties and motor vehicles—increased by $85.3 million from 2014 to 2015, officials say. The $8,222,215,988 total represents a year-over-year 1.0479 percent increase, according to the New Canaan Assessor’s office, which compiles the town’s Grand List. The Grand List measures the total value of taxable property on Oct. 1 of each calendar year. It’s the denominator that finance officials use to set the tax rate—the higher it is, relative to the total revenue in the town budget, the lower that rate will be.