FARMINGTON – The Board of Selectmen approved a $19.94 tax rate per $1,000 of property value at Tuesday’s meeting, utilizing the Downtown Tax Increment Financing district to capture $125,000 in revenue. They also approved putting the potential purchase of fire department equipment before the voters at a special town meeting later this year.
The rate represents an increase of 66 cents per $1,000 of valuation over the previous fiscal year. As is the case with nearby towns, some qualifying residents may see a property tax decrease due to the expansion of the Homestead Exemption program, which will go from $15,000 to $20,000 of exempted value this year. Without the Homestead Exemption, a $100,000 piece of property would be taxed at $1,994, as compared to last year’s $1,928.
The town’s contracted assessor, John O’Donnell, indicated that he believed an overlay falling between $20,000 and $30,000 would be sufficient based on the town’s recent history. The primary decision of the board, therefore, is how much money to capture with the Downtown TIF. Town Manager Richard Davis and the board agreed to raise $125,000 with a 61 percent capture rate on new valuation in the downtown district. Those funds will likely go toward the town’s sidewalk project in West Farmington. The town’s TIF funds were effectively depleted in completing the Church Street parking lot project last year.
Two other TIFs had little impact on the board’s deliberations, O’Donnell said. The Franklin Printing TIF is no longer capturing any revenue, as the personal property value in the district had depreciated to a point that the property was now valued less than when the TIF was created. The Woodlands Memory Care Center TIF, on the other hand, is returning 100 percent of captured valuation in the form of a Credit Enhancement Agreement for the next 10 years.
The .01994 tax rate reflects the $471,000 increase in municipal appropriations, a projected $100,000 decrease in Regional School Unit 9 appropriations and a slight, $10,000 increase in county appropriations. The reduced RSU 9 appropriation was calculated out of the latest budget proposed by the school board directors; the budget meeting isn’t until Sept. 5 with the accompanying validation referendum scheduled for Sept. 12. The school appropriation coming in lower than the estimated $100,000 reduction, via additional reductions at the budget meeting for example, would only pose a problem if it resulted in the town collecting an overlay greater than 5 percent of the entire budget, O’Donnell said. In similar cases that had occurred throughout the state, he said, towns had opted to use the extra funds to reduce the impact of taxes the following year.
Selectmen were unanimous in approving the new tax rate and accompanying TIF capture rate.
The board was similarly unanimous in supporting a special town meeting to appropriate undesignated funds to purchase air bottles for Farmington Fire Rescue’s 20 air pack systems. Each air pack, which is used by firefighters when entering a burning house, requires one primary bottle and one spare. The department’s old bottles, at 16 years of age, have exceeded their allowable life expectancy and are no longer usable. The department is currently borrowing bottles from a vendor.
Over the past few years, the department had repeatedly applied for a $137,830 grant to replace the bottles; it now appears those funds would not be forthcoming.
Selectmen expressed a preference in raising the funds via a special town meeting out of Undesignated, rather than utilizing the department’s $191,052 reserve account. The department’s next major purchase is expected to be an apparatus in 2020, replacing the 1995 E-1 Pumper truck.
Davis noted that the town would likely need a special town meeting this fall for a number of pieces of town business, and that the appropriation for the air packs could be put before the voters then.
Imagine that, my property taxes will increase this year due to the town selectmen approving a .66 /1000 increase to property values to pay for new stuff. Interesting.
And just like that, they spend more of our money. It’s totally heartbreaking and disgusting. When is it going to stabilize and stop bankrupting us?
“The .01994 tax rate reflects the $471,000 increase in municipal appropriations, a projected $100,000 decrease in Regional School Unit 9 appropriations and a slight, $10,000 increase in county appropriations”
I really hope all the NO VOTERS, that have been against the school budget because of their taxes are paying attention. It’s not the schools increasing your property taxes. Stop insisting on the schools continually cutting the courses offered the kids, or to get rid of teaching staff. Don’t keep bankrupting your schools because your towns are not managing their finances as you’d like.
The reality is that the school budget has continued to climb. The only reason some may not have seen increases in their property taxes is because of extra money that came in from the State this year and last. Also, the school had unspent money ($550,000) from 2014 that they carried over to lessen the impact on towns last year. If it wasn’t for that unexpected money….taxes would have gone up. And these windfalls are temporary. When they end, the cows will come home. The increase in the budget that has occurred over the last couple of years will fall on property taxpayers.
Thank you Lindy,the “reality” of the mill rate increase is same as usual, the liberals at town meeting thought we should add $250,000 to an already increasing budget. I’m having a hard time trying to figure out people that believe taxes should go up every year. My pockets are not deep enough to support ever increasing wants.I’d like to spend some of my money on me and mine.
Hard to see through the smoke and mirrors of TIF’s? Hard to swallow another significant tax increase? Already forgotten 2009? Just be good little sheep and pay your higher taxes…..
The reality of the mill rate decrease, due to lower property tax assessments from RSU 9, is due to the citizens initiative to get the state to full fund to 55% for all the schools in the state. Our Representatives negotiated down the amount of funding from the state, as compared to the initiative passed by our voters. The funding for this year and next should allow property tax decreases, because of the results of Question 2 for funding schools. If we allow the legislature to go back on their word, taxes may go up for property owners….Lets help them make the best decision and fund the schools as the voters have asked.
Taxes have gone down even more for Wilton! Celebrate and go on with encouraging our representatives to continue funding our schools at the 55% level for the entire state.
Vote yes!
it could be worse ,look at Jays mill rate or Wiltons rate ,time to suck it up !
But… if the schools have to account for every penny and put it to vote, how come the selectmen don’t have to the same with our money?
“The .01994 tax rate reflects the $471,000 increase in municipal appropriations, a projected $100,000 decrease in Regional School Unit 9 appropriations and a slight, $10,000 increase in county appropriations.”
Lindy’s reply shows the single mindedness of many of the most vocal no voters. It doesn’t matter what is done to any other budget, it doesn’t matter how much of a decrease the towns are given, it is ALWAYS the fault of the school district. I truly don’t think there is anything that the school district could do that would be enough for some people. You have to wonder, at what point is it about taxes and at what point is it about control?
Lindy, thank you for pointing out that the schools were responsible to the tax payer by saving the 550K surplus and putting it back towards the next years budget to save us money. I see so many town departments that spend surplus funds just to say that they need more the next year.
To be clear, despite the town budget being reduced 100,000 (thank you SAD9), my property taxes will still go up about +70$ this year because of the town increases to the budget for Farmington.
What are we getting for the “$471,000 increase in municipal appropriations,” and “$10,000 increase in county appropriations” thought the county cut off the non profits to save money but now they need even more?
The Federal governments money is my money, the State’s money is my money, the local property taxes are my money, it is all my money. Just tired of spending it on everybody else but myself. Time to cut back and live within your means. Keep voting NO on the budget
Isn’t it great to get a local tax cut, be able to keep the state income tax cuts, see the homestead exemption go up for everyone, and increase funding for important needs in schools? The state revenues have grown with the recovering economy, helping property owners with two sources of tax reductions, while keeping in place income tax cuts? And know the state has also increased funding for schools for next year? Looks like it’s time to talk sustainable funding…with these cuts in place.
After listening and asking questions about the school budget being voted down so much I found out that if a group for Common Sense Education hadn’t got together and woke people to their senses that some $200,000 each year plus the use of some $500,000 in surplus added to the cuts would of meant that the school would be up about a million more than now.Think what that would have done to property taxes then and now. Don’t cuss the no voters as I think they will make the school officials use money more wisely , make things better for all in the end.We are all learning to budget and do with less because we don’t get hardly any more increase in our check from year to year.
Captain Planet, can you explain TIF’s? I have asked several times and never can understand it. It seems to me the towns are taking tax money from new businesses and applying it to a selected place rather than put it in the general funds where other tax income goes, and the companies who contribute to a TIF get a tax break. Is that even close to what it is?
Instead of raising our taxes because our firemen need new equipment why not have a big BBQ like you all did for Travis Mills? I have no doubt our community would support this. The police department join, ambulance crews ect!I Stop raising our taxes when there may be other ways to avoid it.