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Resident urges review of condominium tax treatment; city to hold meeting of condo representatives
Summary
A Chimneycrest resident told the Bristol City Council that small condominium associations shoulder road, sewer, trash and hydrant costs without city services; the assessor and mayor said the state created a local option effective Oct. 1, 2024 and the city will convene condominium representatives and review ordinance/statute language and budget impacts.
At the city council meeting, Lucy Cushman of the Chimneycrest condominium association told councilors that her 24‑unit HOA bears the costs of road maintenance, sewer repairs, trash collection, snow removal and hydrant upkeep because the city does not provide those services to the complex. She said many condominium declarations are outdated and place an outsized burden on small groups of homeowners.
The assessor, Tom Genoto, and the mayor told Cushman the state has provided a local option effective Oct. 1, 2024 allowing municipalities to offer some tax relief to condominium associations in recognition of services those associations must provide. They said the city plans a meeting with representatives of condominium complexes to review possible ordinance language, determine who should be on a contact list, and run the fiscal impact of any relief alongside the budget schedule so the effect on city revenue can be calculated.
The council asked staff to compile contact lists for complexes that did not respond to the mayor’s earlier letter to condominium associations and said the ordinance review would be timed so any changes could be incorporated into the budget process if adopted. The council did not adopt any tax breaks at the meeting; it referred the topic for further review and scheduled the representative meeting in January pending weather and scheduling.
The matter is a local option decision; councilors noted any change would reduce city revenue and therefore should be evaluated as part of the budget process.
