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Tax assessor and tax collector give enforcement, cannabis-tax and billing-software updates
Summary
Norwalk's tax assessor and tax collector updated the Finance & Claims Committee on a new car-registration review contract, a Pushpin pilot for parcel inspection, $144,000 in cannabis-tax receipts since April, and ongoing billing-software problems that the collector is troubleshooting with the vendor.
Tax Assessor Paul Gorman told the committee that the Common Council recently approved contracts for municipal tax services (for car-registration enforcement) and commercial consulting through Tyler Technologies. Gorman said his office will pilot a 1,000-parcel Pushpin review using Nearmap flyovers to identify possible unpermitted additions and update field cards ahead of further enforcement.
Gorman also said his office is working with an appraiser to inspect 14 residential cases filed in superior court to confirm field-card accuracy before proceeding with litigation.
Tax Collector Lisa Biagirelli presented the claims committee report and collection statistics. She said the city has processed two special claims in excess of $10,000 (credits linked to leased motor vehicles) and the committee unanimously voted to forward those claims to the full Common Council for final approval.
On collections, Biagirelli reported tax-adjusted levy collections of 54.82% and sewer-use collections of 53.53% for November. She described the mailing schedule for real-estate and supplemental motor-vehicle bills and said the last day to pay in the cycle will be Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, adjusted for weekend timing.
Biagirelli said the city has begun reporting cannabis-tax receipts on monthly reports and has "already collected $144,000 just since, I think, April" through November 2024.
The meeting also included an extended exchange about the new billing software provider. Biagirelli said the vendor's system is producing files that require manual review and sampling to ensure consolidated, accurate bills; she said the city pays about $68,000 a year for the software and the assessor's office pays roughly $57,000. Council members expressed frustration at continuing issues after a transition the prior year; Biagirelli said the vendor had sent staff (including a lead programmer) to meet with city staff and provided a partial manual but that she continues to work with the vendor to stabilize output before mailing.
Biagirelli asked for time to finish the end-of-year billing cycle and promised to keep the committee informed.
