Of Grand Lists, Mill Rates, and the Town Budget

First Selectman Fred Camillo recently released his "Community Connection" newsletter here addressing confusion regarding the newly completed revaluation of the Town's grand list and what it means for your property taxes. There are a lot of moving parts.

Chair of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), David Weisbrod (D) said here that the average 27% increase in property values will not increase your taxes, unless your home's value has increased more than 27%—i.e., you live in a "hot" neighborhood as described here. If your assessment increased by less than the 27% average, your portion of the tax burden may stay flat or even decline.

The example above is too simple, according to former BET member Karen Fassuliotis (R) here. It assumes the town budget stays frozen; it will not. The proposed budget for the upcoming FY 2026-27 year is expected to grow 5.2% to $521.7 million. If this occurs, taxes will rise for almost everyone.

Advice: You can go to Town Hall and fight your assessment, but it's a difficult process with a low success rate, or you can focus on the Town Budget. Under past Republican control, budget increases were generally held to 2-4%. Is 5.2% the new norm under the Democrat-controlled BET? If so, there will be many unhappy residents when the mill rate is set in May and tax bills are due in July.

Between the Lines: The challenge is to keep Greenwich great without pricing out the people who live here. Let the belt-tightening begin.

Story here