Stratford officials outline revenue outlook as grand list shifts boost taxable base

Town of Stratford officials presented the draft fiscal 2026 revenue picture at a March 19 budget workshop, saying grand list changes and declining exemptions increased the town’s taxable base even as some categories shifted.

Finance staff framed the numbers as “realistic” projections based on conversations with department heads and a three‑year lookback, and said they will notify council members if state or other estimates change before final adoption.

The town’s operating revenue is heavily property‑tax dependent; staff noted property taxes make up roughly 80% of the operating budget. Officials highlighted several drivers of the revenue estimate: a reported rise in conveyance tax receipts (about $1.2 million projected), newly approved red‑light camera revenue (about $500,000 approved by the council), two active cannabis dispensaries contributing sales tax revenue, FEMA reimbursements for public‑safety costs, and department forecasts. Staff said police estimates for red‑light fines came from the police chief’s knowledge of comparable towns.

Councilors pressed staff on the role of grand list movements. Finance staff and the town’s tax assessor described a mix of factors: some large exemptions fell off the rolls when properties changed hands or when prior owner exemptions were found not to be allowable; personal property values and exemptions also moved noticeably. The transcript record shows council members asked for more detail about how a roughly $7 million increase in taxable value was produced; staff replied that a combination of reduced exemptions and reassessments accounted for most of that change, and invited councilors to review the supporting grand‑list materials and meet with the assessor.

Mayor Hoydick and staff said recent General Assembly actions (automatic changes such as motor vehicle and veteran exemptions) have caused swings in exemption totals and that the town is tracking state budget developments and working with state representatives. Tax assessor Catherine Stauffer, introduced at the meeting as the town’s new tax assessor, offered to meet with councilors who want parcel‑level explanation of changes.

Councilors emphasized they want clearer, multi‑year tables in the budget book to make trends easier to evaluate. Staff said older salary pages and some aggregated views were produced outside the current Munis export and that compiling multi‑year personnel trend pages is labor intensive; they said the new assistant finance director, Denesh Prasad, will help modernize the budget book going forward.

The discussion produced no vote or formal directive to change rates; staff said any material updates from the state or other sources would be incorporated in amendments and communicated to councilors before final adoption.