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Ways & Means hears explanation of CLAs and statewide adjustment intended to 'calm the waters' on property tax rates
Summary
Tax department and JFO staff explained how Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) factors work, how COVID-driven market changes pushed many town CLAs down, and how a new statewide adjustment in last year’s yield bill aligns pre-CLA and post-CLA rates without changing taxpayers’ final bills.
The Ways & Means Committee heard a technical briefing on property valuation and the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) on Friday, Jan. 17, as tax department and Joint Fiscal Office staff explained the mechanics and recent statutory changes intended to reduce year-to-year rate swings taxpayers see on bills.
Nut graf: Tax department analyst Jake Feldman and Joint Fiscal Office analyst Julia Richter told the committee that CLAs — a town-level correction comparing grand-list values to recent sale prices — have shifted sharply since the COVID housing market surge, producing wide local variation. The statewide adjustment enacted in last year’s yield bill mathematically aligns the pre-CLA (equalized) rates with post-CLA rates that appear on taxpayers’ bills, the analysts said, while not changing the actual tax amounts taxpayers pay.
Jake Feldman, senior fiscal analyst at the Department of Taxes, described CLAs as “general correction factors applied to…
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