New Haven tax-abatement committee forgives taxes and interest for multiple vehicle/property accounts; asks staff to resolve cross-city billing issues

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The New Haven Tax Abatement Committee voted Oct. 28 to forgive taxes and interest on at least one motor-vehicle tax account and to grant relief on a second account after hearing testimony from residents and city staff.

The committee, chaired by Jose Crespo, took public testimony on six abatement and adjustment requests. Beverly White of 40 Austin Street told the committee she should not be held responsible for vehicle taxes listed only in her late husband’s name. “He’s deceased,” White said, and she told members she no longer has the Equinox that generated the bill. Tax-collector staff told the panel that joint vehicle registrations can make both parties liable for grand-list assessments and that the department’s records showed some bills tied to joint registrations for the 2018–2019 grand list.

Why it matters: the panel is the city’s forum for individual taxpayers to request administrative relief when records, registration history, or intermunicipal payments produce disputed bills. The committee’s actions affect whether residents must pay back taxes, penalties or interest and whether the assessor or tax office will make administrative corrections.

What the committee did: the panel closed the public comment period and moved to act on the docketed items. After discussion, the committee voted to forgive the taxes and interest for the account presented by Beverly White (item 1). The transcript records the motion passing with “the ayes have it”; a roll-call tally was not recorded in the hearing transcript. The committee also moved to pass over item 2 (Hill Housing LLC) so the primary filer or their authorized representative can appear; item 3 (Elizabeth Santiago) was withdrawn after three scheduled appearances without the filer present. For item 4 the committee asked staff to invite the filer back with documentation at a future meeting.

The panel spent substantial time on items involving vehicles sold or moved out of state and on an apparent mismatch between New Haven and East Haven assessment/payment records. Assessor staff explained that under the applicable statute taxpayers have 27 months from the assessment date to provide proof that a vehicle was sold, stolen, destroyed or re-registered elsewhere; missing that window typically forfeits the right to have the assessment prorated. The assessor recommended that some administrative corrections are now time-barred, but the committee asked staff to re-check cross-jurisdiction payments and take administrative steps where permitted.

On item 5 (a case involving a vehicle sale and a small outstanding assessment), committee members discussed prior staff advice that the filer need not appear and concluded that, given the facts presented, the committee would waive the taxes and interest for that account. Members agreed to communicate with the tax office and the filer about next steps and to invite filers back if staff cannot resolve outstanding paperwork or intermunicipal discrepancies.

What was not decided: the hearing transcript does not contain a complete roll-call vote breakdown for each item; in several cases staff told the committee the assessor or tax office may be limited by statute in how far back it can make administrative corrections. The committee asked staff to pursue corrections where legally possible and to report the results.

Quotes from the hearing: “I have his death certificate if you’d like to see that,” Beverly White told the panel when asked about the date of death. The assessor’s office told the committee, “The statute says that taxpayers have 27 months from the assessment date to provide any proof… that the vehicle was sold, stolen, destroyed, or removed and registered in another state,” explaining why some proration relief may be time-barred.

Next steps: committee members directed staff to (1) follow up with the tax office and assessor on cross-jurisdiction assessment and payment records with East Haven, (2) invite absent filers to appear with documentation where the committee requested it, and (3) notify filers of committee actions and of how to obtain the final written determination. The committee did not set an effective date for any administrative corrections; staff will report back at a subsequent meeting.