Wilton Residents React to Property Assessments with Concern and Confusion

According to Zillow, the average Wilton home value is now $1,023,000, up 9% in just the past year — on top of significant climbs in the three preceding years.

So perhaps it is no surprise that Wilton homeowners just received notices about, on average, a 37% increase in the assessed value of their home since the last assessment was done in 2017, according to town officials in the assessor’s office.

Still, many residents experienced a type of “sticker shock” about their 2023 revaluation and dismay at what they fear will be a similarly hefty tax increase in July.

In a GOOD Morning Wilton Facebook post asking for residents’ feedback on the new appraisals and assessments, one woman wrote that her assessment “went up significantly.”

“If we had known that it would be going up that much we might have made different decisions when we purchased in 2022,” she wrote. “Seems insane for it to go up as much as it did. We are very concerned about what the actual tax implications are going to be.”

Several residents had reservations about how appraisals were calculated and questioned whether the same criteria were used for everyone.

“Is there a simple way to figure out why my increase is more than 41% and neightbors’ are in the mid-30s? The [town] website seems to be a bit short on explanatory material,” Wilton resident Connie Dickerson wrote in an email to GMW.

Deborah Ravina was also confused about her new appraisal. “Our property somehow got assessed with an extra bathroom. We renovated this past year and while it is true that we gained a half bath and bedroom, this was done through a [conversion] of what used to be a two-car garage. The new assessed value jumped up 77%! Higher than anyone’s we’ve read [online],” she wrote. “Would love to see how this all plays out.”

But Wilton resident Dan Berg has a pragmatic point of view after putting his house on the market last summer in what he called “kind of a trial balloon.” The Bergs ultimately decided not to sell but the multiple offers they received did provide “concrete data points” to see what value buyers placed on his home compared to the town’s recent revaluation.

“All of the offers were above what the assessment would indicate is the total value of our house and property. Which leads me to conclude the assessment is fair,” Berg said.

He also sees both sides of the coin.

“Everyone wants their home to be worth $5 million but they want to pay taxes on an assessed value of $500,000. Me too, but that’s not how it works,” Berg said, adding, “No one likes paying more property taxes. That includes me.”

The Process

Detailed information about the 2023 revaluation process can be found on the Town website, including:

• the purpose of a revaluation
• the five phases of the 2023 revaluation
• how property owners can learn more about or appeal their assessment

The original revaluation timeline called for notices to be sent to homeowners by “late November or early December.” However, by that time, it had become apparent the rollout of the reassessment notices would not go as planned.

On Dec. 15, Boucher alerted residents that the revaluation notices would be delayed “due to the complexity of changes in the real estate market” and “to review and ensure the accuracy of the values.”

The delay turned out to be another month, with most homeowners reporting they received their notice just within the last few days.

In a Jan. 12 update, Boucher thanked residents for their patience and urged caution in interpreting the assessed values.

“Our primary concern is that all new assessments are accurate and fair. We have therefore proceeded with deliberate care, giving this process the appropriate time that it needs.”

“It is extremely important that all property owners understand that the new valuations do not necessarily mean that your property taxes will rise. We strongly encourage you not to estimate your taxes based on this new assessment. Tax rates will only be finalized this spring after a thorough budget process when all numbers are calculated.”

“Once the valuation notices are issued, all property owners will have an opportunity to meet with representatives from our vendor, Vision Government Solutions, to ask questions about how your values were derived.” (Information on scheduling an informal hearing was included in the valuation notices or can be provided by the Assessor’s office.)

Clearing up Confusion

GMW reached out to Wilton’s Manager of Assessing and Tax Collection Hollie Rapp for more insights.

Like Boucher, Rapp is cautious about jumping to conclusions about taxes.

“Obviously, the market has increased significantly since the last reassessment, which was 2017,” Rapp said. “However, just because your assessment increased 25% or 30%, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to see that increase in your taxes.”

Rapp says homeowners trying to make sense of their assessed values can compare them to the average increase for all Wilton homes, which was 37%.

However, even with that comparison, there is no straight-line conclusion homeowners can reach about potential tax increases, since other inputs — namely budget increases — are still unknown.

Still, Rapp acknowledged that some homeowners are seeing increases of 50%-60% or more, suggesting a tax increase would be likely.

Two more important clarifications:

• Assessed value is 70% of the appraised value, or market value, of the property.

• The revaluation process is considered “revenue neutral” i.e., the Town does not collect more taxes merely because values go up. Budgets, debt levels and other types of revenue, among other factors, determine how much the Town needs to collect in property taxes.

What About Commercial Properties?

Commercial properties were appraised during the same revaluation period as the residential properties.

Well before the 2023 revaluation, Town officials have been warning about the potential impact of declining commercial property values on the Grand List, and the possibility that a greater tax burden would therefore shift onto residential property owners.

Rapp is cautiously optimistic about the commercial part of the Grand List equation.

“We’re seeing about a 15% increase in commercial,” Rapp said. “We’re fortunate, because a lot of municipalities have seen a decrease in their commercial.”

“But we’re still going through the informal hearing process,” Rapp quickly added. “So we don’t know how many changes will happen in that process.”

The Assessor’s office is required by state statutes to file the Grand List (or total value of all taxable property in the town) by Jan. 31, or Feb. 29 if an extension is requested. GMW has confirmed the Assessor has requested such an extension and will sign off on the Grand List tally by the Feb. 29 deadline.

Possible Mill Rate Scenarios

For FY’24, residents saw a 3.66% increase in the mill rate. The BOF has already signaled that it anticipates another significant mill rate increase for the next fiscal year, and provided guidance to the BOS and BOE for the FY’25 budget process in the hopes of keeping the mill rate increase to 4%. That budget guidance did not take into account any impact from the revaluation on the Grand List.

It is important to note that the Grand List is not the only factor in the mill rate calculation. The mill rate is also impacted by:

• Budget savings from the previous fiscal year as well as the Town’s Excess Fund balance. However, as BOF chair Matt Raimondi wrote in a recent Op-Ed published by GMW: “No FY2024 budget savings [are] available to reduce taxes… Budget savings will instead remain in the fund balance allowing the town to increase our Moody’s defined ratio of liquid fund balances to revenues from the current 23.5% to at least 25%, which is now required for Aaa bond-rated municipalities.”

• Debt service levels. Though debt service is expected to decline beginning in 2026 due to retiring debt, the Town is almost certain to take on additional debt to pay the millions in needed repairs and upgrades for school and municipal buildings over the next 10-15 years.

Board of Selectmen Discuss

Boucher raised the topic of the revaluation at last night’s (Jan. 23) Board of Selectmen meeting.

“What does this mean for everyone?” Boucher sought to answer. “This is used to help to compile the Grand List… that Grand List is all taxable property located within Wilton, certified every year.”

“The bottom line is, your tax bill will not be governed 100% by this. It will be governed by whatever is passed at the ATM [Annual Town Meeting] through the budgetary process that comes to the voters.”

Boucher also highlighted the short timeline for requesting an informal hearing with VGS — within five days of receiving the notice.

Selectman Ross Tartell noted, “The level of confusion [among residents] is enormous” and encouraged Boucher to provide more communication and explanation to residents.

Next Steps

Raimondi says the revaluation will be on the agenda at the next BOF meeting.

“The impact of revaluation on our residents would be crucial to consider during our upcoming budget and mill rate deliberations. We will be discussing this topic during the February 13 board meeting,” he wrote in an email to GMW.

Raimondi says it’s important for residents to express their views to the BOF throughout the budget and mill rate calculation process.

“The Board of Finance wants to hear from our residents,” he said, including in an upcoming survey, in the public comment portion of BOF meetings, in public hearings on the BOS and BOE budgets, or in direct emails to the BOF.

In the meantime, homeowners who question their assessments may schedule an informal hearing with Vision Government Solutions, Inc, the company that conducted the appraisal work.

Following the informal hearings, final assessment notices will be mailed to homeowners by March 10. Those who wish to appeal their assessment may apply for a formal hearing (March 1-March 20), which will take place in April.