Mayor presented his budget proposal to the Legislative Council tonight.
Budget is strong, responsible, conservative and fair. Details are available at www.hamden.com.
More details tomorrow in most news forums!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Reval Results
Printed from www.patch.hamden.com
From Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng:
The town's grand list, the total value of all taxable property and motor vehicles, has decreased, following the recently completed town-wide revaluation process. Revaluation of property values is required under state law every four years.
The grand list decreased from $4,310,212,858 to $4,022,853,966, a reduction of $287,358,892, or -6.67 percent. Overall, the revaluation produced a major change, seeing a reduction in the value of residential property and an increase for commercial property.
The following is an overview of the results:
Prior to the revaluation, the median residential single family residential dwelling assessment was $189,000; following the revaluation, that average assessment dropped to $171,600, a 10 percent reduction;
Prior to the revaluation, the median condominium assessment was $122,700; following the revaluation, the average dropped to $109,310, an 11 percent reduction;
Commercial property value increased by approximately 6.5 percent;
Motor vehicle values increased by approximately 3.6 percent.
(These totals and averages were supplied by Chief Assessor Jim Clynes)
“Completing the state-mandated revaluation on-time proved to be the right thing to do for Hamden residents. The results shift some of the tax burden off of residential properties, which were valued high during the last revaluation process due to the housing market bubble,” said Mayor Scott Jackson.
The town’s mill rate is currently 31.16. If the new grand list values were in place for last year’s budget, the mill rate to collect the same amount of taxes would have been 33.39 mills.
This calculation is given as a point of reference for people wondering how the new value of their home will be realized in their tax bill. The majority of residential properties saw a reduction in value.
To ensure that residents are fully aware of their property’s new value, new mill rate and how that change affected their tax bill, Mayor Jackson and Tax Collector Barbara Tito will issue tax bills with additional information in July.
The new information will include the 2010 assessed value, mill rate and total tax due, alongside the 2011 assessed value, mill rate and tax due. This will allow an accurate and transparent comparison of exactly what taxes each resident paid in 2010 and what will be owed in 2011.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
From Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng:
The town's grand list, the total value of all taxable property and motor vehicles, has decreased, following the recently completed town-wide revaluation process. Revaluation of property values is required under state law every four years.
The grand list decreased from $4,310,212,858 to $4,022,853,966, a reduction of $287,358,892, or -6.67 percent. Overall, the revaluation produced a major change, seeing a reduction in the value of residential property and an increase for commercial property.
The following is an overview of the results:
Prior to the revaluation, the median residential single family residential dwelling assessment was $189,000; following the revaluation, that average assessment dropped to $171,600, a 10 percent reduction;
Prior to the revaluation, the median condominium assessment was $122,700; following the revaluation, the average dropped to $109,310, an 11 percent reduction;
Commercial property value increased by approximately 6.5 percent;
Motor vehicle values increased by approximately 3.6 percent.
(These totals and averages were supplied by Chief Assessor Jim Clynes)
“Completing the state-mandated revaluation on-time proved to be the right thing to do for Hamden residents. The results shift some of the tax burden off of residential properties, which were valued high during the last revaluation process due to the housing market bubble,” said Mayor Scott Jackson.
The town’s mill rate is currently 31.16. If the new grand list values were in place for last year’s budget, the mill rate to collect the same amount of taxes would have been 33.39 mills.
This calculation is given as a point of reference for people wondering how the new value of their home will be realized in their tax bill. The majority of residential properties saw a reduction in value.
To ensure that residents are fully aware of their property’s new value, new mill rate and how that change affected their tax bill, Mayor Jackson and Tax Collector Barbara Tito will issue tax bills with additional information in July.
The new information will include the 2010 assessed value, mill rate and total tax due, alongside the 2011 assessed value, mill rate and tax due. This will allow an accurate and transparent comparison of exactly what taxes each resident paid in 2010 and what will be owed in 2011.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Federal Money Approved for Emergency Snow Grant Funding
With the stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama's signature became the silver lining to the Jan. 12 winter storm that walloped the state with historic snowfall totals and busted already cash-strapped municipal budgets.
The federal government is going to help cover the multi-million dollar price tag of the cleanup, and Hamden is expected to share in that payout.
It was announced Friday that Obama has approved Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Feb. 18 request for a major disaster declaration for federal aid in connection with the Jan. 12 snowstorm. This declaration includes Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, New London and Tolland counties, including the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations.
A preliminary cost estimate for storm cleanup in those counties in the 48 hours following the storm’s onslaught tops $14.5 million. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse approximately 75 percent of that cost, said Brenda Bergeron, a spokesperson for Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMH).
“It’s very exciting to be getting this back,” she said.
New Haven County’s cost topped the state charts at $3.5 million. Due to the county’s high cost and the amount of snow that fell there, Bergeron said the area is eligible for reimbursement of costs incurred during the 72-hour period following the storm. That could put the county’s cost above $3.5 million, since that number was based on a 48-hour response time to the storm that dumped upwards of two feet of snow and essentially put the state at standstill.
In Hamden, that storm alone costs in the hundreds of thousands to clean up, adding to a snow removal bill that has topped a million dollars.
The Legislative Council has made several special appropriations from its Emergency and Contingency account to pay the bills, practically exhausting the line item.
Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng has said that he anticipates the town receiving as much as $75,000 from the federal government in emergency payments.
"The town is very thankful to have the opportunity to recoup some of the snow removal costs, which for Hamden topped $1.1 million - almost three times our annually budgeted amount," he said. "This will help us to fill the hole this winter season has created in the budget."
The President did not declare a major disaster for Middlesex and Windham counties, so the state will be appealing to have them included. Bergeron is hopeful relief will come to those counties, too.
Snowfall totals in Middlesex and Windham counties were a couple inches short of FEMA’s guidelines, but the costs incurred there more than met requirements, Bergeron said.
“The process to determine what each town will get is just starting,” she said.
The first step is an applicant briefing during which representatives from FEMA and the state’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland meet with municipal leaders in each of the state’s counties. She said those meetings should be set up within the next three weeks. Then FEMA and state officials will meet with town and city officials to nail down final figures.
All in all, she said, “I think it takes several months.”
“The major disaster declaration that President Obama declared will help our cities and towns with the gaping holes in their budgets left by a brutal, relentless winter,” Malloy said. “I’d like to thank President Obama and FEMA for their quick action in this regard. However, Middlesex and Windham Counties were not spared this winter, and I’m already moving forward with an appeal to this ruling on behalf of those counties.”
Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, also weighed in on the news. “This critical aid will help Connecticut residents and businesses get back on their feet after the record-breaking storms we have had this winter. I applaud President Obama’s quick approval of the majority of the state’s applications, but I am concerned that Middlesex and Windham Counties, which each saw a staggering 22 inches of snow during the Jan. 11-12 storm, were left out. I will be working with Governor Malloy and federal officials to ensure that we secure the needed assistance for these counties, and will continue to support the state’s subsequent applications for the addit.
The federal government is going to help cover the multi-million dollar price tag of the cleanup, and Hamden is expected to share in that payout.
It was announced Friday that Obama has approved Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Feb. 18 request for a major disaster declaration for federal aid in connection with the Jan. 12 snowstorm. This declaration includes Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, New London and Tolland counties, including the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations.
A preliminary cost estimate for storm cleanup in those counties in the 48 hours following the storm’s onslaught tops $14.5 million. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse approximately 75 percent of that cost, said Brenda Bergeron, a spokesperson for Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMH).
“It’s very exciting to be getting this back,” she said.
New Haven County’s cost topped the state charts at $3.5 million. Due to the county’s high cost and the amount of snow that fell there, Bergeron said the area is eligible for reimbursement of costs incurred during the 72-hour period following the storm. That could put the county’s cost above $3.5 million, since that number was based on a 48-hour response time to the storm that dumped upwards of two feet of snow and essentially put the state at standstill.
In Hamden, that storm alone costs in the hundreds of thousands to clean up, adding to a snow removal bill that has topped a million dollars.
The Legislative Council has made several special appropriations from its Emergency and Contingency account to pay the bills, practically exhausting the line item.
Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng has said that he anticipates the town receiving as much as $75,000 from the federal government in emergency payments.
"The town is very thankful to have the opportunity to recoup some of the snow removal costs, which for Hamden topped $1.1 million - almost three times our annually budgeted amount," he said. "This will help us to fill the hole this winter season has created in the budget."
The President did not declare a major disaster for Middlesex and Windham counties, so the state will be appealing to have them included. Bergeron is hopeful relief will come to those counties, too.
Snowfall totals in Middlesex and Windham counties were a couple inches short of FEMA’s guidelines, but the costs incurred there more than met requirements, Bergeron said.
“The process to determine what each town will get is just starting,” she said.
The first step is an applicant briefing during which representatives from FEMA and the state’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland meet with municipal leaders in each of the state’s counties. She said those meetings should be set up within the next three weeks. Then FEMA and state officials will meet with town and city officials to nail down final figures.
All in all, she said, “I think it takes several months.”
“The major disaster declaration that President Obama declared will help our cities and towns with the gaping holes in their budgets left by a brutal, relentless winter,” Malloy said. “I’d like to thank President Obama and FEMA for their quick action in this regard. However, Middlesex and Windham Counties were not spared this winter, and I’m already moving forward with an appeal to this ruling on behalf of those counties.”
Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, also weighed in on the news. “This critical aid will help Connecticut residents and businesses get back on their feet after the record-breaking storms we have had this winter. I applaud President Obama’s quick approval of the majority of the state’s applications, but I am concerned that Middlesex and Windham Counties, which each saw a staggering 22 inches of snow during the Jan. 11-12 storm, were left out. I will be working with Governor Malloy and federal officials to ensure that we secure the needed assistance for these counties, and will continue to support the state’s subsequent applications for the addit.
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