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Greenwich assessor reports drop in senior credits, says $2 billion in property value is tied up in tax appeals
Summary
At a June 22 meeting, the Town of Greenwich assessor reported a decline in senior tax credits and disclosed 98 appeals affecting roughly $2 billion of assessed value. The board accepted the report and confirmed outside counsel for most appeals.
Miss Elliot, the town assessor, told the Board of Estimate and Taxation on June 22 that tax bills were mailed June 17 and most public inquiries since then have related to motor-vehicle bills, not real estate. "Tax bills were sent out on June 17th," she said.
The assessor reported a net decline in senior-credit recipients from 389 to 361 year over year. "We lost 61 applicants from last year and gained 33," she said, noting the overall reduction in credits dropped from $742,000 to $690,000. Board members asked whether that reflected sales, deaths or income changes; Elliott said 16 of the 61 sold, 14 passed away and 12 were over-income, with 19 applicants who did not reapply and are assumed to be over-income.
Elliot also disclosed townwide appeal activity: the May 27 filing deadline produced 98 appeals, of which 30 were residential and 68 commercial. She said many are repeat filings by the same property owners and that "the total amount of taxes of fair market value that's in play now is over two billion dollars." The board discussed legal representation: Zelberg and Shelonburgg will represent the town in most (96) matters, while Adam Blank of Wolfsy Rosen will represent the town in two cases where conflicts exist.
Because some appeals are active litigation, board members cautioned limited public commentary on vulnerability and legal strategy. After the legal representation discussion, the BET moved and unanimously approved a motion to accept the assessor's report.
The BET did not adopt any policy changes at the meeting; follow-up items include continued monitoring of appeals and the town's legal exposure as cases proceed through the appeals process.
