New Haven Independent

The Board of Aldermen’s action Monday night came on the heels of approval from the state.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell approved a law Friday allowing municipalities to delay their property revaluations until 2011. The bill paved the way for towns like New Haven, which is amid a five-year phase-in of a property revaluation, to freeze taxes at last year’s rates. New Haven’s phase-in is shifting the property tax burden from commercial to residential taxpayers.

The effort to suspend that process met protest from some commercial taxpayers, and praise from homeowners struggling to pay their bills amid a recession.

City homeowners would face an average 5.2 percent tax hike if aldermen didn’t approve the reval freeze, announced Beaver Hill Alderman Moti Sandman Monday.
The measure passed unanimously, with 24 aldermen present.

The vote was a key step in keeping taxes flat next year.

The mayor’s $464 million FY09-10 budget proposal would keep the tax rate even at 42.21 mills, giving everyone an identical tax bill to the current year’s. The proposal met unanimous approval from the aldermanic Finance Committee on May 8.

The budget is set for a final vote by the full Board of Aldermen on May 26.