Town Budget Likely to Remain Flat But Tax Rate Will Rise Slightly

By Wiley Wood

Property in Norfolk is appraised every five years in keeping with state law, and the latest results are in, according to Assessor Michele Sloane. The grand list has lost about 4.6 percent of its value overall, with real estate declining by 9.4 percent while personal property and motor vehicles went up. If the town’s budget remains flat in 2014, as the Board of Finance has indicated, the mill rate will rise slightly.

At the last appraisal in 2008, the aggregate value of all taxable property in Norfolk came to $310 million. Early figures for the current, statistical revaluation indicate a drop of $14 million.

“We’ve seen more of a reduction in the value of modest-sized houses,” says Sloane. “Larger properties have gone down less and those in what you might call the estate category are in some cases worth more than last time.”

Regular revaluations are mandated by the state to see that appraised values remain in step with a changing real estate market. The appraisals, carried out this year for the town by Russ Boden of Appraisal Resources Group, Inc., are intended to estimate the fair market value of a property as of October 1, 2013, based on comparable sales from the preceding two years.

Sloane reports a sample size of 30 residential and land sales in Norfolk from 2011 to 2013, evenly distributed across the spectrum of prices.

A local realtor, Thomas McGowan, confirms the drop in Norfolk real estate values but puts it at closer to 30 percent. “In reaching a sale price, I tell my clients that the value is just gone. It was there in 2006, but it’s not there now. That’s the reality they have to face if they need to move their property.” He compares the loss to the amputation of a body part.

Betsy Little, another Norfolk realtor, agrees with McGowan’s general sense of real estate trends, finding the sale price often closer to the assessed value than to the appraisal. The assessment is 70 percent of what is deemed the fair market value. “In setting the price, I research comparable sales. But when I check the tax card, I don’t even look at the appraisal, I go straight to the assessment—so that’s 30 percent,” says Little.

The decline in the net grand list will, if the town’s operating budget remains at or near the $7.5 million of previous years, cause the tax rate to rise a fraction of a mill. A mill represents a dollar of tax on every $1,000 of assessed value. The present tax rate is 20.22 mills.

The Board of Finance and its chairman, Michael Sconyers, have indicated several times in the past months that they will not increase taxes and plan to keep the town’s operating budget at its current level. “You’re still saying that you want no bottom line increase, right?” First Selectman Sue Dyer asked Sconyers during a recent Board of Finance discussion about next year’s spending. “Yes,” said Sconyers.

Most taxpayers will see their real estate assessments go down, and the higher tax rate will not translate into higher taxes. But the drop in real property values also leaves most Norfolk taxpayers poorer.

The town’s auditor, George Sinnamon, reported to the Board of Finance on February 11 that the town cannot throw $400,000 of its surplus funds into the pot this year to keep taxes low. While this has been the practice in recent years, Sinnamon warned the board that the town’s reserves, known as the unassigned fund balance, cannot be drawn down at the same rate going forward.

Asked if she expected the town budget for 2014-2015 to reflect cuts in services, Dyer said no. At the same time, she pointed to increases in the cost of services. The bill from the Aquarion Water Company for maintaining the town’s fire hydrants, for instance, has jumped 10 percent this year. “We may not be able to get to everything on our list,” said Dyer.

Notice of the new values was mailed to property owners in early February. The new assessments will be reflected in the tax bills sent out in July 2014 and will remain in place until the revaluation of 2018, barring construction or other physical alteration to a property.

Norfolk property owners who have questions about their assessments may call or visit the assessor’s office at town hall. Formal applications to the Board of Assessment Appeals must be submitted before March 20, 2014. Application forms are available online or at the town clerk’s office.

Corrections: An earlier version of this article put the decline in the appraised value of real estate at 12 percent and the decline in the net grand list at 15 percent.