By Roy Fuchs
Westport Assessor Paul Friia today offered some good news and some bad news to the Y’s Men of Westport Weston about the almost concluded full revaluation.
Tax Assessor Paul Friia: commercial values have increased more than residential. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
The good news—the commercial grand list grew faster than the residential during the five years since the last revaluation, meaning businesses will shoulder a larger portion of total taxes. The bad news—not by much.
Addressing the group’s weekly meeting at the Saugatuck Congregational Church, Friia said state statute requires that every community perform a reval every five years, alternating a “full inspection” assessment, as his office is concluding now, with a desktop update.
Revaluations, he said are done “not to raise taxes… but “to create “an equitable distribution of taxes across the municipality.”
Residential properties are valued primarily against arm’s length sales of comparable houses during the 12 months beginning in October 2014. Commercial values are determined using confidential information about a business’s income.
Friia noted that there were 450 homes sold during that period, 103 teardowns, most of which were turned into a new house, and there were 40 businesses sold.
The assessors were successful in gaining interior access to only 42 percent of the town’s 8,600 residential and commercial properties.
Friia said that if they are denied access, they review building permits and sales of comparable houses to value a property.
Vision Government Solutions, Inc. started the process last August, Friia said. Preliminary numbers are in hand.
Friia said he anticipates sending out initial notices in early to mid-December. He will sign the new Grand List at the end of January.
Property owners may seek an informal meeting with Assessors staff during December. If they are not satisfied they may apply to the Board of Assessment Appeals between Feb. 1 and Feb. 22 for a formal hearing in March, he said.
