The Naugatuck tax collector's office says that some residents have been confused after receiving their property tax bills.
The bills that have been sent out to residents thus far are for half the year only, despite the fact that the bill says residents will only receive one bill. Those bills were printed before Naugatuck knew it would have a referendum.
Because the Naugatuck Taxpayers in Revolt petitioned to force a referendum, to be held July 9, the tax office cannot determine how much residents will owe in taxes. So once the budget and tax rate are officially set, the tax office will send out the second half of bills.
The bills would be sent out likely by Oct. 1 and due on Jan. 1, according to the Republican-American, which states bills have not gone out to residents who have an elderly tax exemption. Those will be sent out once the referendum process is complete, as will motor vehicle taxes, for which residents will have about a month-and-a-half to pay.
The following is background on the budget. More can be found here.
The Budget
Naugatuck officials set the tax rate for next fiscal year at 44.8 mills after approving a budget of $110.9 million, a 3.08 percent increase in spending.The tax rate, expressed in mills, is up significantly from 33.55 mills after a state-mandated revaluation saw the average home drop in value by 29.1 percent. The average house in Naugatuck was assessed last year at $171,000, according to the Naugatuck Assessor’s Office, which says the average house has now dropped to $120,000. In the current fiscal year, the average homeowner paid $5,737 in real estate property taxes, and will pay $5,376 based on the new tax rate.
The increased tax rate, however, means that in all likelihood, most people will see a significant increase in automobile taxes if the budget is approved. Commercial property owners are also likely to see a significant tax increase as those values went down just 3.8 percent on average in the revaluation.
The net increase in tax rate – what the increase would be had there not been a revaluation – is .93 mills.
The school portion of the budget was set at $59.47 million, an increase of 2.4 percent, and the municipal budget was set at $51.42 million, an increase of 3.87 percent.
The Referendum Process
Naugatuck officials usually set the budget and tax rate without say-so from voters. Per the Charter, someone must petition and get signatures from 8 percent of voters to force referendums on the school and town budgets, which is what happened this year.The referendum will be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Naugatuck Historical Society headquarters at the old train station, 195 Water St. In order for the votes to count, 15 percent of registered voters must vote at the referendum.
Residents will be asked to vote yes, no: too high, or no: too low on both the town and school portions of the budget.
If the budgets fail, borough officials make changes and send it to a second referendum. If that fails, it goes to a third and final referendum. If the third referendum fails, borough officials are expected to make cuts and then set a budget that they believe is appropriate.
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