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Public commenter presses town on abatements as staff report shifts in the grand list and $18M in appeal settlements
Summary
A public commenter urged the board to stop long abatements for large businesses and raised conflict‑of‑interest concerns about the town attorney; staff then reviewed refinements to grand list projections — a large apartment project was delayed, motor vehicle assessments rose, veterans’ exemptions increased about $3M, and board members flagged roughly $18M in tax‑appeal settlements that reduced the grand list.
During public audience at the Feb. 17 Simsbury Board of Finance meeting, resident Joan criticized the town’s use of abatements and exemptions for large firms and questioned whether some incentives unduly shift tax burden onto other residents.
"The town should not be incentivizing companies with abatements and exemptions when they are very successful businesses," Joan said, arguing that long abatements help the largest commercial players while ordinary taxpayers pay more. She also raised concerns about the town attorney contracting with firms that do business with the town and the resulting need to hire outside counsel for conflicts.
Board and staff discussion later turned to grand‑list projections and related items. Finance staff and the assessor (Francine, referenced in the packet) told the board that the final grand list for the assessment cycle was slightly lower than earlier estimates because a planned apartment project was put on hold and therefore was not included in final assessed value. Staff emphasized that the assessor’s December and January refinements reduced variance from earlier projections compared with historic swings.
Staff also reported that personal property penalties increased after one non‑filer’s assessment rose by nearly $3 million, and that motor‑vehicle assessments increased across the state as both the number of vehicles and the average assessed values rose. The assessor’s office recorded a roughly $3 million increase in veterans’ exemptions as more veterans applied for the benefit during the year.
Several board members raised concern that settlements of tax appeals had reduced the grand list by about $18 million, far above prior expectations of roughly $5 million, and asked for a detailed summary of settlements and whether the board of assessment appeals and legal process could be adjusted to reduce future uncertainty ahead of the next revaluation.
The chair and staff said they will provide a settlements summary and undertake follow‑up work to better understand how high‑value appeals affect projections and the upcoming revaluation process.
The meeting packet also included the town’s top taxpayers by category and other assessor reports; members asked staff to correct minor minute wording and to add requested detail to the annual report.
