Wilton’s Board of Selectmen just received a pleasant surprise from the Assessor’s Office, which recently finalized the Grand List as of Oct. 1, 2021.
Compared to the previous year, Wilton’s Grand List grew by 1.42%, or nearly $62 million, according to Assessor Sarah C. Scacco, who informed First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice of the new data in a March 4 letter.
“That was twice what we expected,” Vanderslice told the selectmen at the Monday, March 7 BOS meeting.
Though real estate is by far the largest component of the Grand List, the growth was 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 characterized that as “a huge change” and noted the increased value in used cars was likely a significant factor.
The motor vehicle data is not unique to Wilton. Virtually every municipality in Connecticut has seen increases in this category of at least 15% and in some cases over 30%.
Wilton’s 25.76% increase was similar to New Canaan, Ridgefield, Weston and Westport, which all saw increases in the 24-27% range.
Mill Rate Implications
The more favorable Grand List data has implications for the mill rate. The latest mill rate projection would have a more modest 1.94% increase than what was projected earlier in the still-evolving budget process.
Vanderslice will be at Tuesday night’s (Mar. 8) Board of Finance (BOF) meeting to discuss the latest Grand List data, revenue numbers and mill rate projections, as the BOF begins its deliberations on budget proposals and the resulting mill rate for taxpayers.
“Ultimately [the BOF is] going to have to decide at the beginning of April where to put those numbers,” Vanderslice said. “So we’ll see.”