Property assessments are rising across town as Westport finishes up its first full revaluation in three years — but if yours went up, you may not see a tax increase, as the tax rate will be …
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Property assessments are rising across town as Westport finishes up its first full revaluation in three years — but if yours went up, you may not see a tax increase, as the tax rate will be adjusted to reflect new values once the process is complete.
Town officials have spent the year reviewing sales data, home improvements, the market and other factors to come up with new values, and some of the work was also farmed out to independent assessment firms, said Kathy DeNadal, the principal clerk in the town’s assessors office.
Where the biggest jumps are depends in large part on where you live, or whether you’ve had work done on your home in the recent past. Properties with water views or in more desirable areas tended to rise the most, while commercial properties overall rose at a lower rate. Other properties that saw improvements were also adjusted to reflect the value of those changes.
On average, residential properties rose about 10 percent in value across town, while commercial properties went up about 8 percent.
The board of assessors has given residents until Tuesday, Nov. 21, to review their new assessments and ask questions about how their number was reached. After that, and barring any changes, final numbers will be set.
One of the most common concerns assessors hear from residents is that their taxes this coming year will rise by the same amount as their assessment. But that is not the case.
While assessors have not yet computed the town’s new tax base — the total value of all taxed property in town — that number will be used to adjust the tax rate, which currently sits at $8.16 per $1,000 of value. That rate is expected to drop given the increase in the tax base, and those residents who saw their values go up at about the same amount as the average will see minimal changes in their tax bills.
Those whose values went up less than 10 percent, or whose properties decreased in value, could see a tax decrease, while those that rose more than 10 percent could see an increase.
Following are 10 Westport properties chosen at random from the town’s list of adjusted values, which can be found here:
17 Reed Road
25 Village Way
1985F Main Road
76 White Oak Run
56 Almada St.
156 Cherry and Webb Lane
335 Gifford Road
7 Idola St.
653 Sodom Road
23 Red Cedar Road