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Grand list shifts and horse exemption noted as Simsbury reviews 2025 results
Summary
Finance staff reported a mixed 2025 grand list (an apartment project on hold, higher personal property and motor vehicle assessments, and increased veterans exemptions); the Board of Selectmen approved a horse exemption 5–1 to reduce administrative burden relative to revenue collected.
Finance Director Amy Meriwether reviewed the town’s 2025 grand list analysis and related exemptions, noting both upward and downward drivers of assessed value.
Meriwether told the Board that an apartment complex that had been projected did not proceed, reducing expected growth, while personal property assessments came in higher than projected primarily because one company was under-projected earlier. Motor vehicle assessments rose due to an increase in the number of vehicles and an increase in average assessment values. She also noted a rise in veterans’ exemptions because more veterans applied than in prior years.
First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis reported the Board of Selectmen voted 5–1 to approve a horse exemption, explaining the decision was driven by administrative burden relative to the small revenue generated by taxing horses. The Board discussed how settled assessment appeals affect the grand list and the role of the Board of Assessment Appeals in those settlements.
Earlier in public audience, resident Joan Coe used her time to oppose tax increases and tax abatements for profitable businesses, arguing the town should avoid spending increases without grand list growth and questioned legal fees and school field maintenance costs.
Board members asked the finance director and assessor to provide updates to the Selectmen’s budget presentation on March 10 and recognized that assessment appeals and exemptions can materially alter projected revenue if settlements occur.
