Real estate values drop in Borough

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Real estate values in Naugatuck dropped following a recent revaluation. –LUKE MARSHALL

NAUGATUCK — Real estate values in the borough dropped by 26 percent over the past five years.

Naugatuck recently completed a revaluation, performed by the Ohio-based Tyler Technologies. Representatives from the company and Assessor George Hlavacek reported the results to the Board of Mayor and Burgesses Tuesday night.

According to the presentation, the value of all commercial, industrial, residential and utility properties, not including exempt properties, dropped from $1.8 billion to $1.3 billion. Residential property values dropped 29.1 percent, commercial values are down 3.8 percent, industrial is down by 17.6 percent, and utilities are down by 19.5 percent.

Even though most of the property values are going down, there are some commercial properties that saw an increase. The property values of funeral homes increased an average of 11 percent, car washes an average of 24 percent, and gas stations an average of 72 percent.

Even though residents will see their values drop, this does not mean that their taxes will be lowered, Burgess Ronald San Angelo explained.

“I think the important point is that even though residents will see a significant decrease in their property value, because the mill rate is going to go up, they are not going to see a significant cut in their tax bill,” San Angelo said.

San Angelo was concerned that when residents saw these numbers they would think that their tax bill is going down.

The drop in values will have to be compensated for with an increase in the mill rate to maintain the status quo. Officials said the mill rate will be adjusted for the 2013-14 budget.

Tyler Technologies will mail out information to all Naugatuck residents on Friday, letting them know the newly assessed value of their homes.

“The letter will give them 2007 number, which they have been using for five years, and the 2012 number,” Hlavacek said.

Hlavacek said that the mailers will not have the breakdown of everything assessed on the property, but that residents could stop by the assessor’s office and view their field card, which has the listing of rooms and outbuildings.

Any resident who feels that their assessment is wrong can appeal to Tyler Technologies by calling a toll free number on the back of the card mailed.

“Some people may feel that the reduced assessment is an excess of what the market value is, based on what they know and what they feel. We encourage them to give us a call and we’ll sit down with them and have an informal review,” Hardy said.

If the meeting with Tyler Technologies does not yield the desired results, a resident still has the option of taking the revaluation to the Board of Assessment Appeals.

Hlavacek felt that Tyler Technologies was very thorough and was happy with the job they did.

“I’m very pleased with Tyler Tech. I think they did a wonderful job,” Hlavacek said.