Veteran urges Groton council to adopt state-authorized property tax exemption for totally disabled veterans

Valentine Manimeit, a Groton resident and veteran, asked the Town Council on July 7 to adopt the local property tax exemption authorized under Connecticut General Statutes section 12-81 subsection 83 for veterans rated totally disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"I'm here tonight to respectfully ask the town council to adopt the local property tax exemption authorized under Connecticut General Statutes section 12-81 subsection 83 for veterans who are rated total disabled by the VA," Manimeit said, explaining that veterans rated 100% because of individual unemployability (TDIU) often cannot maintain gainful employment and face different financial realities than other veterans rated 100% under the VA schedular system.

Manimeit described how TDIU compensation is intended for veterans "whose service-connected disabilities prevent them from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment," and said adopting the exemption would continue Groton's tradition of supporting military families.

Town staff said the town lacks municipality-level counts of how many residents would be affected and that Representative Gajewski had requested assistance from the Office of Legislative Research to provide numbers across municipalities. The town manager told the council staff would follow up when the data are available.

The council did not take immediate action on the exemption; staff indicated the matter would return when additional information about the number of eligible residents and fiscal impact can be provided. The town manager said staff and state researchers are looking into the scope before bringing a formal agenda item forward.