Shelton adopts local option to reduce motor vehicle depreciation cutbacks, aiming to restore lost assessment revenue

The Shelton governing body voted to direct the city tax assessor to apply a modified motor vehicle depreciation schedule under Section 2 of House Bill 7067, to take effect for the assessment year beginning Oct. 1, 2024, and ordered the assessor to republish the grand list by April 15, 2025.

The measure came after an explanation from Bob, the city’s assistant tax assessor, who said the state’s changes reduced municipal motor-vehicle assessments statewide and that the local option will restore a portion of that loss. "We lost $65,000,000 off the motor vehicle grand list," Bob said, adding that the modified schedule will return roughly $20,000,000 in assessed value statewide and about $380,000 in revenue to Shelton.

The change increases the first-year depreciation factor by five percentage points compared with the new statewide baseline; under the adopted approach, first-year vehicle values would be depreciated at 90 percent rather than 85 percent of MSRP for the assessment computation described in the bill. The resolution directs the assessor to apply the schedule for the assessment year commencing on or after Oct. 1, 2024, and to republish the grand list by April 15, 2025.

Mayor Mark A. Loretti framed the vote as an attempt to "stop some of the bleeding" after the city’s grand list shrank for the first time in decades; he and other members discussed differences in effects on surrounding municipalities during debate. Council members asked staff to prepare outreach and explanation materials for residents about how the change affects individual vehicle assessments.

Because the change adjusts assessment methodology rather than changing tax rates, residents may see lower assessed vehicle values overall than in prior years even after the local adjustment; the assistant tax assessor emphasized the modification restores only a portion of the revenue lost when the state schedule took effect.