A Letter from the Supervisor about the Upcoming Re-evaluation

In a short time, probably around mid February, property owners in the Town of Brookfield will receive notification of the results of the town wide re-evaluation that is being done. This reassessment of our community stands to be one of the most important developments that we have seen in several years, and, undoubtedly there will be strong feelings about its nature and its intent.      I would like to take this opportunity to explain to our taxpayers a bit of the history behind this effort, and to make sure that all the facts are known so that the people of the town of Brookfield have a clear picture as to why this may affect them and their property values.      In June of 2006 Brookfield entered into an agreement with the town of Smithfield to share its assessor and to maintain a uniform level of assessment in their communities. In December of that same year the towns of Fenner and Nelson were added. The group entered into a partnership called a Coordinated Assessment Program, or CAP, which allows for them to share an assessor who will then re-evaluate all property within the four towns at a uniform percentage of full value. In other words, the four towns will share equalization rates, assessor and re-evaluation schedules.      Additionally, in January of 2006, the Brookfield town board unanimously passed a resolution to enter into a tri-annual assessment program beginning with the 2007 assessment roll. A reassessment was done then, with considerable impact to the town. This means that we are committed to a re-evaluation every three years, and that is the cycle that we are in right now. This is the law; this is what we are following.      In the spring of 2009, the board held a series of town hall meetings to discuss whether or not we should continue our membership in the CAP. This would require returning a considerable amount of money that we received from the state as an incentive for joining the CAP. We had already received our notice that the state was dropping our equalization rate as they did with the other towns in the CAP, so that die was cast.  This lower equalization rate effects how much we have to meet our budget. A lower rate means less to work with. In our case it dropped from 89% to 80%, like the other towns in the CAP. Considering the impact of returning these funds, the lower equalization rate, and input that we received from the public at these meetings, the board decided to go ahead with the reassessment.      It was a decision made from necessity, not practicality      So, for the past several months, our assessor has been busy taking a look at each and every parcel in the town of Brookfield, and determining an updated value of that property. This may result in an increase, decrease or no change whatsoever in the assessment of a piece of land, and will be based on the market value of the property, whether or not any improvements were done, or whether that property is actually undervalued.        According to recent sales figures property in our town has been selling at a “brisk” rate, and for higher than average prices. This inevitably has an effect on local property values, and there is very little that can be done about it. If a private landowner wishes to sell their land to whomever, the town has no legal authority to stop it. Private business deals should not be dictated by government. Call it a double edged sword if you will. Brookfield is a great place to live, and people want to move here.      So this is where we are at presently. You will be receiving a notice from the assessor with new figures on what your property is worth, and you may or may not like what you see. I have had a number of people come into my office recently, who have expressed much concern about this, and I do not blame them, I am a property owner too, and I was hit hard in the last reassessment. Of course not everyone was. Since we bought an old house in North Brookfield and kept it from falling apart, my assessment has more than doubled. Save a property, pay more taxes.      In order to give this whole issue some better understanding, it is important to know how our taxes are figured. In the calculation of the tax rate, that being the amount that you pay for every $1000.00 of assessment, we take into account two very important figures, one being the tax levy which is the amount that we need to pay the bills.  The other is the total assessed value of the town, something determined by the combined worth of each and every piece of property in our town. A re-evaluation will increase that total. We divide the levy by the total assessed value and that gives us a tax rate.        When you do the math, you will find that if you increase the total value and keep the levy the same or close to it, you can actually drop the tax rate. A higher property value, but a lower tax rate results. This is not double talk, it is simple calculations. Also, the figures that you receive will not take into account exemptions like agricultural or veterans. If this is confusing, I understand. Come in and I will try to explain it better. I am always happy to get information to the people.      What can really make a difference here between paying more taxes, and being able to use this as something good for the town is whether or not we have to spend more to support services. We have an aging fleet of equipment and roads that were neglected for years. It will be a challenge to keep costs down.      Unfortunately, politics has entered into the picture, and this is being called Mr. Salka's tax increase. Why would I want to increase my own taxes? More negativity, more deception. These types of claims are not only inaccurate, but serve no constructive purpose whatsoever. If I was considering entering into an agreement, as was done in 2006, that was going to affect so many of my town's property owners, I certainly would have filled them in beforehand, and allowed them to be part of the decision. Unfortunately, this was never done; as many decisions in the past were made without community input. Again, politics trumps truth.      The bottom line here is that the state is playing an integral part in encouraging municipalities to form these CAPs to bring property values up to fair and equitable status, and given that, it may in fact be good practice. It's just that the timing could not be worse. Times are tough, and by applying pressure to towns to re-evaluate, some might say it is simply an effort to prop up a dismal state budget, cover for irresponsible spending, and is a refusal to be realistic with taxpayer's funds.      Another concern is that we all know what is happening to the real estate market. Your home just is not worth what it was two or three years ago, so how can they claim it is of a higher value? Also, towns have no control over what schools or the counties do with reassessments. As a member of the county board of supervisors, I will work diligently to control costs on the county level.      As your town supervisor, I will do everything in my power to make sure that every penny is spent properly, and I will need your help in trying to do that. There are options that property owners have if they do not agree with their assessments, and I will be more than glad to inform you of your rights. Please, come and see me. You all deserve an explanation. We need to be in this together, and as we see these challenges to our community mount, we will need to work together to make sure that our town remains one of the nicest places around to live-for everybody. John Salka Brookfield Town Supervisor