Milford aldermen approve five‑year phase‑in of 2025 revaluation to soften homeowner tax impact

The Milford Board of Aldermen voted 11–2 on March 10 to adopt a five‑year phase‑in of the city’s October 1, 2025 property revaluation, directing staff to notify the state and to implement software changes needed to apply the schedule.

Mayor Smith, who urged the board to act at the special meeting, said the revaluation produced “the largest reval increase in our city's history,” and that residential assessments rose sharply: “Residential properties increased an average of 40%.” He framed the phase‑in as a tool to “soften the blow” for homeowners on fixed incomes who could otherwise face sudden tax increases.

The city attorney told the board the proposal rests on Connecticut General Statutes §12‑62c, which allows municipalities to phase in the effect of a revaluation for one to five years, requires the municipality to notify the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), and mandates that the chosen percentages and duration be reported. The attorney noted a municipality may also terminate a phase‑in during the period by subsequent resolution.

City staff and aldermen debated tradeoffs between immediate implementation and a phased approach. The finance director said a full, immediate implementation would likely produce a lower mill rate in staff projections (examples cited in the low‑to‑mid‑20s), whereas phasing could result in a higher mill rate in the near term (examples cited near the high‑20s). He emphasized, however, that mill rate changes must be read in dollars owed, since the mill rate and the total budget together determine individual tax bills.

Several aldermen asked technical questions about distributional effects. Alderman Albert Casey pressed whether commercial declines rather than residential increases were driving the burden shift; meeting participants noted apartments are taxed as commercial and that apartments in the grand list rose at about 43% on average, while residential property comprises an estimated roughly 80% of the taxable grand list—factors that make residential increases particularly noticeable to homeowners.

The board recorded concerns about implementation. Multiple members said they would have preferred the city assessor to attend the meeting for technical questions; the mayor and staff said the assessor had submitted the grand list to the state at the end of February and would be the liaison to the software vendor to apply the phase‑in. Speakers also recalled that Milford previously used a phase‑in after the 2006 revaluation (approved in 2007 and later terminated in 2009) and noted reports of implementation headaches in other municipalities.

After discussion and a brief recess, the aldermen took a roll‑call vote. The resolution passed 11–2. The board then adjourned.

The resolution requires the city to notify the state Office of Policy and Management and to provide annual notices to affected property owners while staff implements the software and administrative steps to apply the 20% per‑year schedule. Specific implementation details and final mill‑rate calculations will depend on the board of finance’s upcoming budget vote and the assessor’s work to apply assessed values under the phase‑in schedule.