Posts

Showing posts from February, 2025

Town Council Begins Revaluation Updates With Sharp Jump in Home Values—and Worries About What Comes Next

Image
The town assessor cited four examples to the Town Council monday of price gains on Enfield homes since the last revaluation. This home showed the most dramatic increase. The jump may be due to strong demand for lower-priced homes, upgrades made between sales, or a combination of both. The Town Council plans to give regular public updates on the upcoming property revaluation. The first of those updates came last night with a look at how sharply residential property values have increased since the previous revaluation. Enfield is conducting a property revaluation as required by state law. The process will run through 2026, and residents will receive their new assessments in November of that year. Those assessments will apply to the FY28 budget, which takes effect in July 2027. Residential values in Enfield have risen significantly since the 2021 revaluation (See examples below). The concern for town officials is a potential tax shift: if commercial property values have not increased at t...

Charter Commission proposes 7% budget cap, a fix that won't solve the problem (With correction)

Image
Charter Revision Commission meeting CORRECTION FROM ORIGINAL POST:  In my initial analysis, I incorrectly connected two distinct fiscal years when discussing budget increases and tax impacts. This fixes it. Here's what happened: The 4.5% tax increase in 2022 was based on the FY2023 budget ( July 2022 - June 2023 ). Town spending decreased by 1.19% in FY2023 , but taxes still went up because the 2021 revaluation shifted the tax burden to homeowners . When residents opened their tax bills in July 2022, they saw the 4.5% tax increase. Using a sample 1,200 SF single family house Southwood Acres, property taxes went from  $4,265 → $4,457 or a $192 increase. [For context, Social Security recipients received an 8.7% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for their 2023 benefits, reflecting the high inflation of 2022.] 📌 Cause: This tax hike was driven by the 2021 revaluation , which shifted more of the tax burden from commercial to residential properties, not by increased spending ....