The Eye On
Of
interest on this page are issues regarding Revaluation, Property Tax Reform,
the MDC, Town Budget, Binding Arbitration, and other items Taxes affecting taxation
in West Hartford. The West Hartford
Taxpayers Association will be posting information, updates and press releases
here. Most recent will be posted first.
Current Mill rate for
West Hartford is 38.38 (up from last’s year’s 37.54).
A list of Town’s Mill
rates is available at the State of CT website
Unfunded
State Mandates – The Connecticut Conference of
Municipalities put out a document
which lists the various unfunded state mandates forced upon municipalities
and the estimated costs they incur on towns.
** 5 Year Projection of Revenues, Expenditures
and Financial Imbalance for West Hartford – Budget shortfall for 2010/11 is already $12.5
million!
-
NEW! XCEL Worksheet
to calculate your taxes with the adopted cessation of phase-in and the 38.38 Mill Rate This spreadsheet will give you
the taxes you would have paid with the phase-in as well as the currently
adopted no phase-in amount (You need to know your assessment prior to the 2006
revaluation as well as the assessment after revaluation – This can be obtained
from the Town’s
online property records system Just plug the values into the yellow
highlighted fields in the spreadsheet which are currently filled with sample numbers
– The rest will be automatically calculated for you) If you cannot find your assessment
information from the online property Records system please contact the Town Assessor’s office.
Basically, to calculate your tax bill you take the assessment amount
(which is normally 70% of the market value of your home/property that is
recorded by the Assessment office, but will for 2009 be the assessment used
last year) and divide that amount by 1000 and multiply it by the Mill rate.
- 2009 Tax Estimator – from the Town website
- Budget Analysis of CT Towns – by Bill Generous
- West Hartford School rankings based on schooldigger.com and test scores.
NEW! – A short analysis of the 2010 budget
increase
- by Bill Generous and a
link to our ad.
NEW! – Budget referendum June 15th – Our signs
say Vote NO! on More Taxes. enter your address on the Town’s website and obtain
your polling location
The WHTA
gathered enough signatures to force a budget referendum – WHTA has established a Political Action Committee
(PAC) for this referendum in accordance with Election laws. You can donate
money to this PAC, by printing out the form and sending in your donation (It is a PDF file).
- WHTA votes to collect
signatures for a tax referendum after the Town Council passed a 2.24% tax increase with its $216.7 million budget, bringing the mill rate to 38.38 mills
Proposed Town Budget and Proposed School Budget - If adopted as submitted by Town Manager Ronald Van
Winkle, the 2010-11 budget, of a proposed $219.1 million, would require a 3.6 percent hike in the tax rate to 38.91 mills,
effective July 1. The school portion of the proposal is $121.92 million, up $4.2 million
from the current education budget. The town government portion is $65.8 million, up
$1.29 million for the current budget. Proposed West
Hartford Budget Cuts School, Town Jobs – Hartford Courant – 03/10/10
School Superintendent Proposes
4.37% School Budget Increase to $126.7 Million Dollars – 03/03/10.
-WHTA Contest Results! - Congratulations to the winners Bill
McCarthy, Gerald Shimoda-Peterson, Marilyn Winograd, Joe Visconti, Mark L., and
Lesley Warner – First Prize
(Golf for Four at Tower Ridge Golf Club) went to William McCarthy, who
suggested to close the firehouse on Prospect Street saving the town money on
upgrades and fire budget overtime; Second Prize ($100 gift certificate to
Daswani Clothiers) went to Gerald Shimoda-Peterson who suggested that credit
cards issued to Town employees should be examined/cancelled; Third Prize
(a haircut and blow dry at Oggi Hair Salon) went to Marilyn Winograd, who
suggested that school administrators should teach one or more classes per
semester allowing a cut in staff; Forth Prize (Manicure at Nail Pro) went to
former Town Council member Joe Visconti who suggested that “Time clocks should
be purchased and installed in all town buildings so all town employees can
punch in and out. GPS devices should be purchased and installed in all town
vehicles to measure the work progress of the town’s employees”; Fifth Prize
($20 CVS Gift Certificate) went to Mark
L., who suggested that we reduce the number of administrators at schools. Sixth
Prize ($20 Stop and Shop Gift Certificate) went to Lesley Warner, who suggested
that there should be an audit of water use conducted by the MDC of all
town buildings to identify cost savings. Read more
here and here
Reduction in number of polling
places being considered by the Town Council and Town
management in order to cut expenses for West Hartford.
School Nurses agreed to a new
contract that includes a defined contribution plan for pensions. Following a renegotiation of pension benefits with the security
officers union, the Board of Education has now ratified a similar
agreement with the West Hartford Public School Nurses Association. – 01/2010
The announcement was even carried on NBC and also sent out to residents on the town Listserv– and here is the press release. Send WHTA an idea to save the town some money
and you could win a prize!
RETIREMENT PLANS - Municipalities
Tackling Pension Costs – 01/02/10 –
The Hartford Courant reports that - A new retirement plan approved by the town's
smallest union sets a precedent that local officials hope other unions can
accept in an effort to trim spiraling pension costs. "Future pension
obligations are huge issues for West Hartford and other municipalities,"
Town Manager Ronald Van Winkle said. "The change in the ... contract with
school security guards is a change we are making a priority in talks with other
union members."
West
Hartford School Board To Vote On New Contract For Security Officers –
12/29/09 - The school board is expected to vote Tuesday on a
proposed four-year contract with the security officers' union that will impose
a wage freeze for 2010-11 and require employees to pay more for health and
pension benefits.
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- State Election and Enforcement Commission decision regarding Morley PTO violation of Election Laws in 2008 Referendum – Morley PTO gets a reprimand.
- Education Cost Sharing (ECS) shortfall memo – West Hartford HAS NOT BEEN getting its fair share from the state.
- Eye on West Hartford Archives for
2009.
- WHTA has made available archived information from 2008 budget referendum.
- WHTA has made available archived information from 2007 budget referendum.
Our 2008-09 tax calculator is now available
exclusively from the West Hartford Taxpayers Association as a service to help
you see what your particular tax will be in 2008-09: Calculate your property tax based on the
2008-09 proposed budget and mill rate using this calculator (Excel
spreadsheet) and the assessment of your property from the town property records system. Just plug in the 2005 and 2006
assessments (pre and post revaluation) shown for your property on the town
property records system, and the calculator will show you what your tax will be
with this proposed budget which is expected to tax us at a 37.09 mill rate. The
town of