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Torrington assessor outlines revaluation results: residential values up ~90%, motor-vehicle and veteran-rule changes to shrink grand list
Summary
City Assessor Stacy Maldonado and revaluation supervisor Paul Kennedy presented the 2024 revaluation results Jan. 21, reporting roughly 90% increase in residential values, a projected 12–13% reduction in the motor-vehicle grand list under new state rules, and an unexpected veterans’ exemption affecting about 48 properties and roughly $7.1 million
Torrington — City Assessor Stacy Maldonado told the Board of Finance on Jan. 21 that the 2024 statistical revaluation shows a sharp rise in residential assessments and that two recent state law changes will materially alter the city’s grand list.
Maldonado said the revaluation company’s statistical work shows an overall residential increase of roughly 90% and a total grand-list increase near 94% compared with the prior list. Paul Kennedy, the revaluation supervisor who led the residential valuation, told the board Torrington recorded 366 sales in the study period used (Oct. 1, 2023, through September 2024) and that the revaluation’s overall sales-assessment ratio is about 94%.
The assessor highlighted two state law changes affecting the 2024 grand list. First, motor vehicles will be valued using manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP) with a statutory depreciation scale rather than by condition, mileage, or salvage status; Maldonado and Kennedy said early benchmarks from other towns indicate a 12–13% reduction in the motor-vehicle grand list. Second, the state enacted a veterans’ exemption that allows a permanently and totally disabled veteran to apply to exempt the primary dwelling structure; Maldonado said 48 veterans have applied under the enacted language and estimated those exemptions represent roughly $7,100,000 in assessed value for the 2024 list.
Maldonado said the veterans provision was drafted in a way that broadened eligibility beyond initial expectations; where sponsors expected to affect only a small number of veterans, she said the enacted language requires the assessor to exempt a dwelling for any veteran with a permanent and total disability determination from the VA, regardless of percentage labels in earlier drafts. Maldonado said the language is before the legislature again and could change.
Kennedy explained the revaluation methodology used state-guided statistical models that compare recent market sales to current assessments and then adjust values by property style and other factors. He said the city’s residential models are supported by the sales volume and that some of the largest percentage increases reflect new construction or lot-to-house conversions (for example, properties that were land formerly now improved with new homes).
Maldonado said the revaluation company completed informal hearings and will mail determinations at the end of the month; after she signs the grand list in February, property owners may file appeals to the Board of Assessment Appeals during the March application window. She emphasized revaluation equalizes assessed values across the city, it does not itself set taxes, and explained the practical challenge: even where assessed values rise sharply, mill-rate changes to attempt “hold-harmless” outcomes are constrained by state rules, changes in motor-vehicle valuation, and the structure of transition grants tied to mill-rate caps.
Board members asked for follow-up briefings during budget season; officials said the assessor’s office will provide additional impact analysis to help the board and public understand distributional effects across residential, multi-family and commercial classes.
The revaluation presentation and related policy changes will factor into Torrington’s FY26 budget deliberations and the board’s upcoming discussions about setting the mill rate.
