First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice attended Tuesday night‘s (March 8) meeting of the Board of Finance (BOF) and provided board members with a strategic overview of the Town’s finances as the FY2023 budget comes into focus.
Vanderslice presented the BOF with the recently published Wilton Grand List and an updated mill rate projection for FY2023.
As GOOD Morning Wilton reported, Vanderslice shared the same data with the Board of Selectmen (BOS) the previous night.
Vanderslice’s Financial Overview
Vanderslice informed the BOF that Wilton’s latest Grand List calculations (as of Oct. 1, 2021) were better than expected, with a growth of 1.42%, or nearly $62 million, over the previous year.
The Grand List has reached nearly $4.4 billion in total.
At $3.9 billion, real estate is by far the largest component of Wilton’s Grand List, but the recent growth is largely driven by motor vehicles, up nearly 26% from 2020. In fact, almost $54 million of the $62 million in growth came from motor vehicles.
Vanderslice attributed the growth to some “catch-up” on car purchases and the increased values of used cars.
The higher assessments on motor vehicles mean the Town will collect more in taxes.
“Everybody that had a vehicle last year, and still has it, is going to get hit with a sizable increase in their motor vehicle tax,” Vanderslice said. (Note: The Town of Wilton does not determine the values of the vehicles.)
Vanderslice also mentioned a related concern about home values and the revaluation slated for next year.
“We have this spike, and if it doesn’t sustain, we’ve [done the revaluations] based on that spike and we have to live with that for five years,” Vanderslice said.
She indicated she was pursuing the possibility for Wilton to delay the property revaluations for another year.
BOF Vice Chair Stewart Koenigsberg commented that the BOF would need to be cognizant of the impact on residents from an expected increase in both real estate and motor vehicle taxes.
“When we think about the overall increase in the taxes that people are going to pay, we need to consider this,” Koenigsberg said, alluding to the upcoming budget and mill rate deliberations.
Vanderslice also shared the most updated mill rate forecast: an increase of 1.94% assuming the budgets as proposed are approved.
Of all the numbers, Vanderslice focused the board members’ attention on the 2.37% increase in total operating requirements — driven by a 1.37% increase in the BOS budget and a 3.26% increase in the Board of Education budget — and the resulting 1.94% mill rate increase.
BOF Chair Michael Kaelin agreed with the focus on the 2.37% increase in operating requirements.
“What we are really called upon to [do] is to approve what [the Town] is spending and set the mill rate,” Kaelin said.
Conveyance Is A Concern
Vanderslice has some concerns about the stability of real estate conveyance fees in Wilton’s financial outlook.
Wilton has benefited from higher conveyance fees as a result of brisk residential real estate sales since the start of the pandemic, but Vanderslice warns that level could change with the current lack of inventory of homes for sale and slower pace of property transfers.
“I’m very closely watching conveyance [revenue] because that number can swing by a couple hundred thousand dollars, and I’m also watching building permits,” Vanderslice told the board.
She told the BOF she would have updated numbers in early April.
Public Opinion Sought
At the BOF’s Feb. 8 meeting, board members made an appeal to residents for input during the budget process. Anticipating potentially sizable increases in the requests for the Board of Education (BOE) budget as well as the BOS budget, the BOF wanted input from residents as early in the process as possible.
The board is still welcoming email comments (using the contact form on the Town website).
Board member Matt Raimondi summarized the feedback received from residents so far with two key themes: concern about the combined impact of rising inflation on potential tax increases, and “perceived excess and administrative burden” in the budgets.
Raimondi also updated the board members on his efforts to field an online survey of residents to gauge public opinion on budget and tax matters. The survey is expected to begin within days.
The board worked through specific question areas intended for the survey in the hopes of getting the most actionable results.
“I’m interested in the answer to two questions,” Kaelin said. “Do you support the Board of Ed budget as presented if it means an x% increase in your taxes, and do you support the Board of Selectmen budget as presented if it means an x% increase in your taxes?”
“And if not, what do you suggest is not spent?” added BOF member Chris Stroup.
Vanderslice lamented the fact that most residents are not well-informed on the budgets.
“I think the vast majority of people in town have not [read the budget]. The engagement is so little,” Vanderslice said.
Kaelin hopes the public will get engaged and take advantage of the upcoming public hearings on the BOE budget (March 23) and BOS budget (March 24).