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Taxes Rise In Easton And Redding; Weston's Rate Drops

EASTON, WESTON AND REDDING, Conn. – Tax rates will rise in Easton and Redding this July, but Weston residents will see a slight drop in their property taxes this summer.

Tax bills coming from Easton's town hall will be slightly higher this summer, as will those for the town's neighbors in Redding.

Tax bills coming from Easton's town hall will be slightly higher this summer, as will those for the town's neighbors in Redding.

Photo Credit: File

The Boards of Finance in Easton, Weston and Redding all set their towns’ mill rates for 2013 last week after townwide budget votes. The mill rates will be used to determine the property tax bills in each town effective July 1.

Easton’s new mill rate is 29.3, after a unanimous Board of Finance vote May 7. The rate is about 0.7 percent higher than last summer’s tax rate of 29.1.

The higher taxes will be used to pay for Easton’s $41.2 million town budget, which passed via town referendum earlier that day. Easton residents agreed to the budget by a vote of 577-184, with one abstention, according to the town’s website.

In Redding, the mill rate for July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 will be 29.05, a raw increase of nearly 24.8 percent compared to the 2012-2013 rate. Homeowners’ actual tax bills will not rise that much, however. Redding conducted a revaluation of its property last fall, which saw home values drop an average of 18.5 percent compared to the last valuation in 2007. When adjusted for the change, Redding’s taxes will rise 1.58 percent this July, according to the finance department’s calculations.

The town-approved budget initially called for a 1.8 percent increase, but the Redding Board of Finance decided that its initial revenue projections were too low. The group voted unanimously to set a lower mill rate with a $100,000 “placeholder” in the budget for untallied revenue, according to the board's minutes.

In Weston, the mill rate will change to 23.89 on July 1, a decrease of about half a percent from the current rate. The rate will pay for Weston’s town budget of about $65 million, which passed by a 256-33 vote during the town referendum earlier this month.

A town’s mill rate is used to calculate its tax bills each year. To estimate your tax bill, you multiply the rate by your property’s assessed value divided by 1,000. Assessed values are 70 percent of a property’s estimated worth as of the most recent revaluation. Weston and Redding have property assessments for their properties available online at Vision Appraisal. Easton’s are also available online here.

For example, a house with an appraised market value of $800,000 would have an assessed value of $560,000. Under the new mill rates, that example property would pay $16,408 in Easton, $19,173 in Redding and $13,378.40 in Weston.

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