Mayor presents three options to blunt Stratford tax impact after steep revaluation

The mayor of Stratford outlined three principal options to ease homeowner tax increases at a town-hall budget question-and-answer session, warning that a recent property revaluation that raised residential values about 80% while commercial values rose roughly 22% created a sharp shift in who pays for local services.

The mayor said the town’s grand list jumped from roughly $5.0 billion to about $8.5 billion after the revaluation, and that the town-side budget he put forward increases town-side tax revenue by about $5.37 million; combined with roughly $55 million in state school funding, he said the overall budget figures total about $278 million. He gave a hypothetical example: a home valued at $200,000 before reval that rose 80% to $360,000 could see about a $3,000 annual tax increase without relief measures.

That arithmetic, the mayor added, is why the administration is proposing three basic approaches: enact a Homestead discount that would reduce taxable residential values (the mayor cited a 35% example); phase in part of the increase for one year (the mayor described a 50% first-year phase-in); or adopt a one-year moratorium on motor-vehicle taxes to offset some homeowners’ increases. He said implementing a full Homestead program this July is not feasible because processing applications for roughly 17,000 residences (about 20 minutes per file) would take many months. “We won’t be able to do the Homestead this year,” he said, adding that a phased approach or a one-year vehicle-tax moratorium could be viable interim steps.

The mayor said those choices carry trade-offs. Discounts that lower the grand list can push the mill rate in different directions depending on which parts of the tax base are affected; phase-in approaches reduce immediate homeowner pain but delay full relief; and a vehicle-tax moratorium would be administratively simple but benefits residents with higher vehicle valuations more than others. He said the town council must approve any of these options and that, if adopted, the effective date would likely be in July.

Residents pressed the mayor on several details. One attendee, citing a personal example of construction and subsequent value increases, asked how to contest an assessment; the mayor said the assessor’s office is accepting appeals and that hundreds of appeals have already led to significant valuation changes for some homeowners. Another resident raised concerns about renters and whether they would be helped; the mayor said renters, who do not own property, are not eligible for a homestead discount but that the town is developing a separate renter-assistance proposal tied to income and rent increases. The mayor also said town staff will examine residency and vehicle-registration records to identify unregistered vehicles and potential revenue from compliance work.

Beyond tax options, the mayor outlined a number of budget savings and operational changes he said staff have enacted or proposed, including a restructured EMS program, auditing mobile-device accounts, retooling blight/neglected-property management, trimming fire overtime through staffing changes, and partial outsourcing of some parks work. He attributed specific savings to several of those items and stressed that many budget lines were examined in the Munis accounting system to align budget requests with recent actual spending.

On next steps, the mayor said the town council will debate and vote on which option(s) to adopt; if the Homestead program is selected, he said the logistics point to implementation for the following fiscal year rather than this July, and that homeowners would receive mailings explaining eligibility and affidavit requirements. He also urged residents to use the appeals process if they believe their assessment is incorrect and reminded people of office hours and district meetings for more localized issues.

No formal votes or policy adoptions occurred at the meeting; the mayor framed the three approaches as options the town council will consider in the coming weeks.