The Eye On
Of
interest on this page are issues regarding Revaluation, Property Tax Reform,
the MDC, Town Budget, Binding Arbitration, and other items Taxes affecting taxation
in West Hartford. The West Hartford
Taxpayers Association will be posting information, updates and press releases
here. Most recent will be posted first.
Current Mill rate for
West Hartford is 37.54.
A list of Town’s Mill
rates is available at the State of CT website
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XCEL
Worksheet to calculate your taxes with the newly adopted cessation of phase-in
and the 37.54 Mill Rate This spreadsheet
will give you the taxes you would have paid with the phase-in as well as the
currently adopted no phase-in amount (You need to know your assessment prior to
the 2006 revaluation as well as the assessment after revaluation – This can be
obtained from the Town’s
online property records system Just plug the values into the yellow
highlighted fields in the spreadsheet which are currently filled with sample numbers
– The rest will be automatically calculated for you) If you cannot find your assessment
information from the online property Records system please contact the Town Assessor’s office.
Basically, to calculate your tax bill you take the assessment amount
(which is normally 70% of the market value of your home/property that is
recorded by the Assessment office, but will for 2009 be the assessment used
last year) and divide that amount by 1000 and multiply it by the Mill rate.
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2009
Tax Estimator – from the Town website
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Budget Analysis of CT Towns – by
Bill Generous
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State
Election and Enforcement Commission decision regarding Morley PTO violation
of Election Laws in 2008 Referendum – Morley PTO gets a reprimand.
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Education Cost Sharing (ECS) shortfall memo – West Hartford HAS NOT BEEN getting its fair share
from the state.
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West Hartford School rankings
based on schooldigger.com and test scores.
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!New! West Hartford Council Votes To Halt Revaluation - June 10, 2009 – Property owners may get a break on
their property taxes, but the Mill Rate will go from 36.97 to 37.54 even as
assessments will stay the same as last year and not continue with the phase-in
of the 2006 revaluation of property values.
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!New! Phase-in Analysis by Robert Sisk – June 9, 2009
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!New! West Hartford Expecting A Surplus – June 2, 2009 – The Town Manager now expects the Town
to have a budget surplus at year end.
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According to a report in the Hartford Courant – May 19,
2009 - “There will be no referendum challenge
this spring to the $212.5 million budget approved last month by the town
council and supported by both political parties and the West Hartford Taxpayers
Association. The filing deadline for referendum petitions passed at 4:30 p.m.
Monday without any papers submitted to the town clerk by Linda Dinapoli, a town
native and real estate agent who last month said she would ask residents to
back a vote on the budget.”
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The Hartford
Courant reports: Largest Union Agrees To A Wage Freeze – May 7, 2009 - The largest municipal employee union
has approved a wage freeze, forgoing a scheduled 3.5 percent pay hike scheduled
for July 1 to help the cash-strapped town balance its $212.5 million budget.
The 187 members of that CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 became the latest group of
employees to re-open a contract and freeze wages, in light of a projected $6
million revenue shortfall. Steve Schunder, president of Local 2001's board,
said workers supported the wage freeze to help the town "survive the
economic crisis." Local 2001 members will give up a combined $350,000
through the wage freeze. Still, Schunder said Thursday, the local is pleased
that "the town approached us early so we could be part of the
process." Unions representing firefighters, school custodians and school
administrators have already agreed to the concessions. Talks continue with
unions representing police officers and street department workers. The town's
non-union department heads took a wage freeze. Earlier this spring, town
officials requested all unions to consider re-opening contracts and freezing
wages. Robert Rowlson, the town's interim community services director, said he
is "proud" that the members recognize the town's tough economic
problems.
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Town May Get Money To Buy Police
Cruisers- May 5, 2009 – Money from the federal economic stimulus budget might
enable the town to buy five new police cruisers, even though money for that
purchase was cut from the town's budget. The town council next Tuesday is
expected to apply for $113,000 from a federal justice department grant, interim
town manager Ronald Van Winkle said. Town officers use the cruisers
continuously on all three shifts, so the vehicles get far more wear than most
municipal cars. It's common for a cruiser to be driven at least 50,000 miles a
year, he said.
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Hartford Courant Article - Board Says Morley PTO Violated Election Law - April 28, 2009 – “The former co-president of the
Morley School PTO violated state election law last year by posting a political
notice on a PTO website hosted on town-financed computer servers, the state
Election Enforcement Commission has concluded. In an order adopted April 8, the
commission said Sharon Lapointe should not have used the school PTO
website to post a request for volunteers to put "Vote Yes" signs in
their yards, urging support of a proposed town budget in a referendum vote. The violation occurred because the equipment used
to deliver the PTO newsletter on the Internet is owned and paid for by the town
and because the message posted online was not neutral, but urged a specific
position, the commission said. Lapointe and the commission settled the
complaint with an agreement that concluded that she did violate the law and
would not do so in the future. There is no fine or other action, Nancy
Nicolescu, the commission spokeswoman, said Tuesday. This type of settlement is
called a hence-forth order, saying that it will not be done again going
forward," Nicolescu said. "We've gotten calls about this type of
question before from many towns. Sometimes town attorneys call us to ask about
any possible problems with a message a town or city wants to put out." The
original complaint was filed on June 12, 2008, by Judy Aron, vice president of
the West Hartford Taxpayers Association. She alleged that the PTO notice
violated election law because
town-financed equipment was used to produce and disseminate a political message. State Election and Enforcement
Commission decision
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WHTA letter to the Mayor regarding the budget and suggestions for next
year’s budget. 04/28/09
- Town resident begins independent referendum petition drive; an effort not supported by the WHTA-04/28/09
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The Hartford Courant writes - Legal Fight Over For Retired Employees April 27, 2009 – “The legal fight is over for more
than 300 retired town police officers and firefighters who claim they're owed
years of cost-of-living adjustments to their pensions. Judge Richard M.
Rittenband, Superior Court trial referee, has denied the groups' lawsuit, which
was filed in 2006. The judge said last month that under the law, the retirees
had a six-year period to file a lawsuit but did not begin legal action for 30
years. In the initial lawsuit, the retirees claimed that a pension agreement
made in 1976 guaranteed that police officers and firefighters would receive
cost-of-living adjustments equal to or better than those given to state
employees.”
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Friday 04-24-09 –
West Hartford Taxpayers Association voted not
to pursue a referendum. In a close
vote at the 04/24/09 WHTA meeting, members voted not to pursue a budget
referendum. The Town came in with less spending than last year; $600,000 less
than the current $213.1 million budget. The new tax rate will be 34.81 Mills. The current Mill rate for
West Hartford is 36.97. Members who voted against a referendum said
that the Town came in with less spending and lowered the Mill rate, they also
provided unprecedented transparency in the budget process this year and spent
time listening and sitting down with WHTA leadership. Since the Town is bound
by contracts, and unions were giving up wage increases this year in order to
save jobs, it seemed that having a referendum would not produce any significant
decreases, especially since the budget drivers are primarily salary and
benefits. The only thing left for the Town to cut would be services, like
closing libraries and pools. The WHTA leadership felt that the town has much
work to do going forward, and should begin thinking about some long range
planning especially as it pertains to negotiated contracts. They are also
advocating for a management audit by a citizens audit committee. It would appear that the real referendum this
year will be in November at election time.
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Hartford Courant
– West Hartford Council Approves $212.5 Million Budget – 04/24/09
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From the Hartford Courant 04/21/09 – “The town is trying to pare insurance costs and
earn some money by sending 30 older cars, construction equipment and other town
vehicles to the state surplus lot in Wethersfield for auction late this spring.
The reduction in the fleet will trim insurance costs by an estimated $10,000,
Ron Van Winkle, acting town manager, said. "All of these vehicles have had
a lot of use," he said. The
decision is one of the steps town officials are taking this spring to save
money as they prepare a town budget.
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Town of Granby defeats their budget in a referendum. East Granby budget, which only included about a 1.1% tax increase, was narrowly defeated
at referendum today (April 21) They put their focus on increased spending,
particularly by the Board of Education, but chose not to complain about the
compensation of their teachers (even though they’re among the highest paid in
the state). They hit the school administrators very hard, pointing out
that their 14 top administrators make about $1.5 million including
benefits. They posted their salaries on
their website. (WHTA
will be doing the same) With the focus
on the school administrator’s salaries, they believe that if their BOE comes
back and tries to cut programs without any concessions from the administrators,
it will put them in a very tough position.
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Article from the
Hartford Courant – 04/21/09 - Hispanic
Liaison In West Hartford Schools Could Be Cut
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Article from the
Hartford Courant – 04/21/09 – West Hartford Town Council To Vote on
Pared Down Town Budget
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From the Hartford Courant 04/20/09 - Watts Up? No, Down! Retail To Save Money- “Conservation efforts and a town push to buy electricity
on the retail market should save taxpayers about $100,000 in energy costs next
budget year. Most of the savings should occur as a result of a contract the
town has with TransCanada, an active retail electric supplier in Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. TransCanada is
selling low-cost electricity to the town, Ronald Van Winkle, the interim town
manager, said Monday. The town will still pay fees to Northeast Utilities for
bringing the electricity here through its transmission system.”
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From
the Hartford Courant 04/17/09 - West Hartford
May End Free Trash Pickup For Nonprofit Groups - Budget problems might end the decades-long town
practice of free trash pickup for religious organizations and nonprofit groups.
Town officials are sending letters this week to the dozens of addresses now
getting the free service, letting people know that pickup could end June 30.
The proposed $216 million budget being refined by the town council for a vote
on Thursday does not include the $93,984 necessary to continue the service next
fiscal year. "When we began preparing this year's budget proposal, we
looked at all services we offer as compared to other towns. I believe we are
the only town that provides this service for free," Mayor Scott Slifka
said. "Cutting it is one of many options we've proposed to manage town
expenses." It's not a surprise proposal. Last spring, the council
discussed the change. But it was proposed without enough time to notify groups
that they might have to make other arrangements. The budget proposal is not set
in stone and final revisions are possible, Slifka said. Still, there's a chance
the service could be eliminated, and that's one reason the letters are being
sent."We want to make people aware of this so they can plan," Slifka
said.Ronald Van Winkle, the interim town manager, said Thursday that the free
trash pickup has been offered for decades. "We're looking at what options
there are to reduce expenses," Van Winkle said. "This is just
one."
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From the Hartford Courant 04/01/09 - “A $216.6
million town budget, proposed for the fiscal year beginning July 1, is the
topic of a public hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday in the town hall auditorium. Town
and school officials will be at the session to answer questions and discuss
specifics raised by those attending the hearing. The proposal reflects an
increase of $3.49 million, or 1.7 percent, over the current budget. The
municipal services portion of the proposal is $73.6 million, a decrease of
$49,286 or .1 percent. The recommended school budget is $126.85 million, an
increase of $3,543,300, or 2.9 percent.”
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Hartford
Courant – No Cuts Planned For Full Day Kindergarten In
West Hartford – 03/28/09
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WHTA letter to the Mayor
regarding Wages and Benefits – 03/12/09
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Rell Plan To Suspend Binding
Arbitration Faces Opposition – CCM website/Courant
Article - This was in response to
comments made by Governor Rell in her
Budget address, “I
am calling for the suspension of binding arbitration requirements for two years
while we confront our economic troubles. At the end of the two-year suspension,
I propose that we limit mandatory subjects of binding arbitration to salaries and benefits only – not
scheduling, the size of parking spaces, picnics and parties on state time and
the dozens of other subjects currently included.“
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Hartford Courant Article - West
Hartford Mayor Suggests Zero Percent Increase In School Spending – 03/10/09
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The following budget
proposal information for the Education budget is now available:
4. Other Towns
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The West Hartford
Town Council is proposing changes to the “Standing Rules” which will restrict the ability for the public to
speak at the Town Council meetings. In this document showing the proposed rules
changes, current practice is shown in brackets, and underlined words are the
additions/replacement language. The Current Standing Rules can be seen
here
on the Town website. Item 15 on the agenda for Town
Council meeting of 03/10/09
addresses these changes. The public is
encouraged to come out to speak to this issue at this meeting on 03/10/09.
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Hartford Courant
Article - West Hartford Proposes
School Budget Of $126.9 Million– 02/05/09
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Board
of Education Suggestion Box
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Hartford
Courant Article – West Hartford
Budget Forum Draws A Crowd– 02/05/09
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Hartford
Courant Article – West Hartford Schools Chief Give
Board Budget Scenarios – 02/04/09
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Hartford Courant
Article – West Hartford
Mayor Outlines Budget Difficulties Ahead – 01/21/09
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Mayor’s Invitation To The Public
For January 28th Forum – 01/20/09 The WHTA encourages everyone to
attend!
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WHTA letter to the Mayor regarding January 28th meeting Agenda – 01/19/09
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WHTA letter to the Board of
Education – 01/12/09
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Hartford Courant Article
– West Hartford
Residents Could Face 7 Percent Hike In Taxes – 01/07/09
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WHTA letter to the Mayor regarding taking leadership role regarding
proposed tax increases – 01/06/09
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WHTA letter to the Mayor requesting the Town Council to take a stand on a
zero tax increase – 12/05/08
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- West Hartford News article – Town Council adopts budget $600,000 cut in services – 10/21/08
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Results of the October 7 Budget
Referendum YES
= 4,844 NO = 6,152 56% of the those voting, voted NO.
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- WHTA has made available archived information from 2008 budget referendum.
- WHTA has made available archived information from 2007 budget referendum.
Our 2008-09 tax calculator is now available
exclusively from the West Hartford Taxpayers Association as a service to help
you see what your particular tax will be in 2008-09: Calculate your property tax based on the
2008-09 proposed budget and mill rate using this calculator (Excel
spreadsheet) and the assessment of your property from the town property records system. Just plug in the 2005 and 2006
assessments (pre and post revaluation) shown for your property on the town
property records system, and the calculator will show you what your tax will be
with this proposed budget which is expected to tax us at a 37.09 mill rate. The
town of