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City manager wins committee authorization to hire firm for personal-property audits
Summary
City Manager Brian Daniels received committee authority to contract with Tax Management Associates to audit business personal property accounts valued at $50,000 or more; the vendor would receive 40% of first-year newly collected revenue. Daniels said 509 accounts meet the $50,000 threshold.
The Meriden Finance Committee authorized the city manager on Feb. 2 to enter an agreement with Tax Management Associates Inc. to perform a personal property audit of business accounts that report $50,000 or more in personal property.
City Manager Brian Daniels said the city issued an RFP and selected a vendor with nationwide experience; the firm would act as an agent of the tax assessor’s office and review accounts (Daniels said 509 accounts were identified with declared personal property exceeding $50,000). The contractor would work over a period (up to three years as described) and be paid on contingency: 40% of newly identified revenue collected in the first year, with subsequent collections becoming city revenue.
Daniels described the process as non-adversarial and educational for businesses uncertain about reporting requirements. He noted there will be internal appeals handled by the contractor and the potential for superior-court appeals that the city may have to defend in court.
A committee member asked whether newly recovered revenue would be placed in a rainy-day fund or treated as tax revenue; Daniels said it posts to the city’s personal property tax revenue line and any effect on the mill rate would be reflected the following year. After discussion, the committee approved the authorization for the city manager to sign the contract.
