Nonprofits could be taxed for services

By Avice Meehan
As the date for a vote on Norfolk’s new firehouse came into focus, the longtime chair of the Board of Finance (BoF) floated an idea to his colleagues: create a fire district that might enable the town to broaden the tax base for supporting emergency services.

Michael Sconyers did so indirectly by asking the BoF to authorize him to speak with First Selectman Matt Riiska about obtaining a legal opinion on the matter. He said the genesis was the private fundraising effort for the $9.3 million project and the discovery that many nonprofits in Norfolk were unable to contribute because of bylaws or other restrictions.

Riiska said in a recent interview that he hasn’t yet had a detailed conversation with the town’s attorney, but that the idea is worth considering. He and Sconyers have discussed it for several years.

“Having a fire department is an essential service that the town provides, and it is costly. What’s fair is fair,” Riiska said. “All property owners should help out. It is a service that everyone relies on.

Riiska said he believes one approach would be to shift emergency services from the town budget to a fire district, which would include the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department ($132,400), hydrant charges ($80,000) and expenses such as the fire marshal, emergency management, Litchfield County Dispatch and emergency medical services. Debt service for the new fire house and the cost of new equipment would also be folded into a fire district budget.

Both the NVFD and the Norfolk Lions Club Volunteer Ambulance raise funds in the community. Town support for the ambulance is more modest, however. The town helped finance construction of the relatively new ambulance building, and this year’s budget includes $20,000 for gas and insurance. The ambulance is otherwise self-supporting.

According to Norfolk Assessor Rae Ann Walcott, there are 130 tax-exempt properties in town with an assessed valuation of approximately $75 million. By way of comparison, the value of taxable property in town—as defined by the grand list—is $382 million.

Many tax-exempt properties are largely unoccupied—by humans, that is. These range from small cemeteries to state-owned parks (Dennis Hill and Haystack Mountain) and major tracts of conservation or forest land owned by such entities as the Norfolk Land Trust, Great Mountain Forest, the Nature Conservancy and Aton Forest.

But other, high-value tax-exempt properties include historic buildings and are heavily used. These include the Battell Stoeckel Estate, home to Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the Yale Norfolk School of Art. The nearly 80-acre property carries an assessed valuation of $11.8 million. On Westside Road, the historic property owned by the Confucian Study Association Inc. has an assessed valuation of $7.9 million.

“The fire district would include everyone in town—after all, when it comes to the equipment, we plan for everyone—but there are many components to this in order to make it fair for everybody,” said Riiska, noting that it would require development of a second grand list and criteria for evaluating properties.
Connecticut has roughly 328 special taxing districts that are permitted, under state law, to collect taxes for purposes that range from providing police and fire protection to running a ferry service and managing a beach or lake. Norfolk’s sewer district is a kind of special taxing district but is not included in the total. Sewer taxes are based on water usage and a hookup fee and are levied on all properties within the district, including major tax-exempt properties such as the Battell Stoeckel Estate and the Confucian Study Center.

Eight special taxing districts operate in Litchfield County, with many having been created in the early years of the 20th century. In North Canaan, the 123-year-old fire district manages lighting, sidewalks and sewer. Neighboring New Hartford has two fire districts with mill rates that range between .70 mills for residents of the South End Fire District and 1.4 mills for those within the larger Village Fire District No. 1. Barkhamsted also has a fire district, while others in Harwinton, Goshen, Torrington and Morris manage lakes or provide sewer service.

In theory, state law allows 15 or more voters to submit a petition to the Board of Selectmen asking for creation of a special taxing district; a meeting must be held within 30 days. The selectmen can call for a referendum on the matter—as can the voters themselves by submitting a petition signed by 200 or 10 percent of the eligible voters.