Green View Commons
Branford’s top 10 taxpayers for 2014 include developers, a power company and a major Thimble Islands owner. And, as it turns out, they are the same top three taxpayers who led the list the year before.
Alex Vigliotti, a well-known Branford developer, the Connecticut Light & Power Company (Eversource), and Christine Svenningsen, who owns a number of the Thimble Islands, are the three top Branford taxpayers in 2014. Vigliotti was number 1 in 2013 as well. He holds multiple real estate and personal properties whose combined tax value came to $41.6 million.
The top 10 town taxpayers’ list was put together after the Board of Assessment Appeals (BOAA) completed property tax hearings last month for some 242 homeowners and commercial entities, all seeking reductions in their property taxes during this revaluation year. Only 45 properties or 18.5 percent of the 242 properties the BOAA examined were changed, either up or down. The BOAA did not say which.
Branford’s 2014 grand list, the economic engine of the town, fell this year to $3,485,684,401, a decline of $25.3 million. The decline was not unexpected given that 2014 was a revaluation year. One major reason for the decline was a slide in the town’s condo market. Click here to read the story. Other towns on the shoreline have also seen their grand lists go down.
State Revals
Every Oct. 1, by state law municipalities assess real property for taxes based on its fair market value, which changes over time. By law, municipalities must assess property at 70 percent of its fair market value.
Revaluations, which are costly undertakings, take place by statute every five years. Branford’s most recent 2014 revaluation was a statistical revaluation, which occurs without a physical inspection of the property. The next revaluation, one that will require a physical inspection of property, is slated for 2019.
The Top 10
Vigliotti, the top taxpayer in town, recently completed his new residential development, once called Founders Village and now called Green View Commons, which is a three-building complex specifically designed to rent to those age 55 and older.(See top photo). The Vigliotti development on Hillside Avenue is near the center of town.
The current second-place holder among the top 10 taxpayers is Connecticut Light & Power Company, whose taxable values came to $31 million. Svenningsen’s Rogers Island, LLC, came with taxable properties totaling $20.9 million down from $21.7 million in 2013 and down from $26.5 million in 2012. She owns a number of the Thimble Islands as well as other properties in Stony Creek.
The remaining top taxpayers are: Kiop Branford, a shopping plaza, 4th place, and Business Park Realty, a commercial and industrial entity owned by Charles Weber, Jr., and valued at $13.2 million in 5th place. Weber is one of the developers seeking to build the Costco warehouse near Exit 56.
There is also Albany Road, LLC, a commercial and industrial company, 6th place, United Illuminating, 7th place, Bruce & Johnson’s Branford Marina, 8th place, Nationwide Health Properties, 9th place and CSC Montoya, a residential and rental company, 10th place, displacing Wal-mart, which held that spot in 2013.
Several Top Commercial Entities File Suit
Those appealing commercial taxes filed claims with the BOAA. However, the BOAA does not hear tax claims over $1 million so these entities are typically turned down. Then these owners file tax appeals against the town in New Haven Superior Court.
So far the first major commercial taxpayer in town to file in court is Bruce & Johnson’s Marina at 145 Block Island Road. The marina’s property was valued at $8.7M by the assessor. The marina termed the assessment “grossly excessive, disproportionate, and unlawful,” in court papers.
Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, located at 22 Leetes Island Road, whose property was valued at $7.3M, also appealed on the same grounds. So did CVS Pharmacy, located at 2 – 6 Short Beach Road. CVS argued that the full valuation placed on the property – $3.2M exceeded “the property’s true and actual market value as of October 1, 2014.”
The final BOAA meeting was held on March 18 in Town Hall when the BOAA formally acted on the appeals. The BOAA hearings followed earlier Vision Appraisal hearings held in December and January at Town Hall. After the final BOAA meeting, where their findings were delivered to taxpayers, Tax Assessor Barbara Neal reviewed the numbers, made the required changes and revised the Oct. 1, 2014 grand list to reflect the BOAA changes.
In 2006 the state legislature explicitly allowed tax assessors to use mass appraisal methods to assess a town’s properties. Vision Appraisal (now known as Vision Government Solutions) is the town’s outside assessment company, a company that operates in nine states, including Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.
Many property owners received reductions after their Vision hearing and did not appeal further. Others did, citing differences they continue to have with the appraisal process.
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