Despite fears that changes to New Canaan’s taxing structure would harm the town’s finances, the total value of taxable property here—including homes, commercial properties and motor vehicles—increased by $84.5 million from 2013 to 2014, officials say.
The $8,136,949,551 total represents a 1.0489 percent increase, according to the New Canaan Assessor’s office, which compiles the town’s Grand List.
Asked what the news means to local taxpayers, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said two things:
- Panic about a potentially decreased Grand List following higher taxes on homes in the $1 million range and lower taxes on those in the $3 million to $4 million range were off-base; and
- Robust building activity and new construction—much of it to accommodate new families with school-age children moving to town—will help offset the cost to New Canaan of providing high-quality services to those and other residents.
The increase is “a wonderful indication about where the town is in terms of desirability,” Mallozzi said.
“The Grand List being healthy and growing is what you want in a community,” he said. “Communities need to see that and quite frankly, we’re in a really good position—that ours is growing even after the revaluation and our neighbors’ Grand Lists are probably not growing at all.”
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.
Here’s a table related to the Grand List, showing the gross top-10 taxpayer accounts in New Canaan for real estate—click on each address for more assessor information:
Top-10 Taxpayer Accounts—New Canaan Grand List, 2014
| Real Estate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Address | Assessment |
| 1. Country Club of New Canaan | 95 Country Club Road | $28,490,770 |
| 2. Town Close Associates Ltd Partner | 106 Lakeview Ave. | $25,316,200 |
| 3. New Canaan Lumber Co. | Elm, Grove & Pine Streets | $16,255,680 |
| 4. Kathleen O. Tropin | 260 West Road | $15,760,850 |
| 5. J.R. Silverberg Realty LLC | Elm and Main Streets | $13,878,410 |
| 6. Edward Simon, trustee | 82 Brookwood Lane | $12,367,950 |
| 7. 721 North Wilton Road LLC | 721 North Wilton Road | $10,183,810 |
| 8. De Lom Partners LLC | 104 Dan's Highway | $10,172,680 |
| 9. Hatfield Mews T H O Corp. | 330 Elm St. | $9,574,040 |
| 10. 56 Rosebrook Road LLC | 56 Rosebrook Road | $8,084,090 |
If Mallozzi is correct why then did our taxes increase 11% over the last 13 months? His theorem is inaccurate
The firm that did the mass appraisal wizardry produced overassessed values for the smaller houses the last time and has done it again. Does anybody really know where these numbers come from?
Explanations are usually a fast shuffle. The tax assessor’s office should offer a series of seminars to explain to people how their properties are assessed.