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Assessor outlines local options under Public Act 25-168 for 100% P&T veteran exemption; council cautions on cost
Summary
Assessor Stacie Maldonado briefed the Council on options under Public Act 25-168 that allow municipalities to grant a 100% permanent-and-total (P&T) disability exemption for veterans’ primary residences, including optional addition of up to two acres and surviving-spouse continuation; Councilor Anne Ruwet said adding land could increase exemptions by about $2 million and requested more data and statutory text at a future meeting.
Assessor Stacie Maldonado told the City Council March 16 that Public Act 25-168 provides municipalities with local options to tailor 100% permanent-and-total (P&T) disability exemptions for veterans. Under the statute the veteran’s primary residence can be fully exempt provided the veteran submits annual documentation of a 100% permanent disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Maldonado said.
Maldonado explained that, as enacted for the October 1, 2025 grand list, municipalities may optionally add up to two acres of land to the exemption and may extend dwelling exemptions to surviving spouses under certain conditions. She recommended that if the council considers adding land, it treat the additional acreage as a building lot and described technical reasons for that approach.
Councilor Anne Ruwet cautioned that including the land could increase total exemptions by approximately $2,000,000 on the city’s tax base and said the projected jump in exemptions is concerning. Councilor Chris Beyus asked whether veterans or veterans’ groups had raised the issue; Maldonado said multiple veterans had inquired about the land option. Beyus also asked whether the council must adopt the local option; Mayor Molly Spino and Maldonado confirmed municipal adoption is discretionary. Maldonado said she does not yet have statewide adoption statistics but offered to research how many municipalities have adopted the option and to bring the specific statutory language for council review at a future meeting.
The discussion was informational: no ordinance or local-option vote occurred at the March 16 meeting. Maldonado noted there were currently no participants enrolled in the 100% P&T program in Torrington and clarified that surviving spouses would retain the dwelling exemption as long as they remain unmarried, if the local option were adopted.
