55.53% Of City Real Estate Now Tax-Exempt

Dam that like like 12 pts higher than the mill rate.

Sorry about 16 points from the mill rate according to what I was reading above

The article will inevitably prompt calls to tax Yale. Merits aside, this is not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

If a bill is proposed to tax Yale, it will put the fear of the taxman, if not God, in churches, private schools, and other non-profit organizations. Yale will persuade them they they would be taxed next. Their representatives (and lobbyists) will appear at the Legislative Office Building, and the bill will die. I am speaking from experience here - I saw this happen. A subsequent bill to tax Yale made it out of committee, but died on the Senate floor. Then, as now, Sen. Looney (a good guy) ran the chamber.

In the unlikely event that such a bill passed, Yale would be in court the next day, arguing that it violates Article Eighth, Section 3 of the state constitution, which enshrines the tax exemption granted to Yale in its state charter. As a non-lawyer, I won’t opine on the merits of this argument. But it would be quite a while before the city saw the sought after tax revenue.

Let me stress that I am making an empirical rather than a normative statement. In all likelihood this is how things will, as distinct from should, play out.

Hard to believe that with the city share of non-taxable properties at 14%, that represents 1/3 of all (45%) taxable real estate in the city.

What is the city doing with their billions of dollars of real estate, and how can we repurpose that for the benefit of the community

Hey The Democrats feel around 9 of the 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights are obsolete and need to be "looked into" why would a silly little state charter can be taken away with the stroke of a pen.

Alder Festa asked director Gormany what savings would accrue from using the ARPA funds for the bonded projects. He responded that the savings would depend on the [bond] market, which is clearly the case. But even I could come up with an estimate of the savings at today’s bond rates, with the understanding that those rates could go up or down. And I have no doubt that his financial skills are far better than mine.

On a more personal note, I live in East Rock. The increase in my home’s assessed value was close to the citywide average, and I will have a tax increase next year. The 37.8% decrease in taxes for the East Rock property listed in the table, compared to FY 22, is highly atypical. A cynic might think that that property was chosen with East Rock alder Festa in mind. And the fact that there are no properties in the table from Dwight, Dixwell, or Newhallville is surely an unintended oversight.

HewNaven, after you figure out how to do that, resolving the Israel/Palestine conflict should be straightforward. 🤓

With some exceptions, the valuation of governmental/nonprofit property is essentially arbitrary. There are three widely accepted appraisal methods - comparable sales, income, and cost less depreciation.The first two don’t apply to tax-exempt property. The cost method does give a reasonable estimate of the value of a recently constructed building. But City Hall, Center Church, or Phelps Hall, not really.

Manofthepeople1, the city owns a good bit of property not currently used for municipal purposes, e.g., several vacant schools and property taken in tax foreclosures.

It is not unusual for an urban center to have a large amount of tax exempt property. New Haven alders have been whining about it for more than two decades and it continues today. Ald. Morrison's question about "how we got here" is disengenuous. If she doesn't know, then she hasn't been present in finance committee meetings or been paying attention. The city's portfolio of property is growing; the value of all real estate is increasing and what's not said here but should have been, is that this committee, the mayor and the full BOA keeps granting tax free subsidies worth millions of dollars per year.

That said - the real issue is spending. The non-tax property is a smoke screen to cover their tax increases on the working families of New Haven. In 2010, the city's budget was $464 million - Elicker's budget is $633 million, almost 37% increase. Half that increase has come since 2018.

The affordable housing crisis will worsen because landlords that offer affordable rents will have to raise them.

Acting Assessor does not know that church buildings are tax exempt?? And HE'S the ASSESSOR....... unless the churches are meeting as a business in a residential property, which is then a zoning violation, no?

CY2, you misread the article. The assessor said he would need to look at the data to determine how much of the increase in tax-exempt value was due to new churches. Nothing in the article suggests that he is unaware of the fact that churches are tax-exempt.

HewNaven, I try very hard not to be cynical. But I spent 30 years on the legislature’s non-partisan staff and have some idea as to how it works. There are many legislators who I respect, including Sen. Looney. But they aren’t going to change the law on Yale’s tax status in the foreseeable future.

What I would like to know with all these tax figures and comparisons flying around, is how much of that property tax is past due from people and LLCs, how long has it been past due and what is being done about it? How does that compare to those who do pay every year. Those figures should be readily available without sounding like a Washington politician – I’ll get back to you. Simple question as far as I’m concerned.

Why are these people still wearing masks? The fire promotion yesterday, nobody wore masks. Out to dinner? No masks. Went to Contois for Scotch, world class pepperoni soup and a burger - no masks. Bank? No masks. Finance Committee - maybe they didn't get the memo - it's over. Even NYC ended masks because it contributes to crime. Or is this committee planning on robbing us?

The writing on the wall is that New Haven is not for homeowners. The city does not support tax paying citizens. The city serves renters, non-profits, and businesses. We get taxed to the hilt and then the City begs the State to cover the remainder in an effort to subsidize all the elements of society relegated to New Haven. The rich and the poor are accommodated. We in the middle continue to feel the endless squeeze.

1CityDump- Can you please give me an example or two of: "the mayor and the full BOA keeps granting tax free subsidies worth millions of dollars per year"?

To all: Again I would like to stress that cities like New Haven and New London not only have nonprofits not on the tax rolls but they also have land devoted to interstate highways which give cities air, noise, light pollution and litter. There is a state PILOT for the nonprofits but nothing for the land lost to the interstates which removes a fair amount of land and depresses the taxable value of the contiguous land. Until we have sweeping and fair tax policy in CT let's lobby for a PILOT for the interstate land. (To make it most just, the rate could be based on the population density of the municipality.)

First of all, Yale is never going to be taxed. Yale is tax exempt as an entity, and that tax exemption is written into the state constitution. How did it get in there? Yalies wrote the constitution. It’s simple. So you’ll have to amend the constitution to tax Yale. The process to amend the state constitution is clearly set out. If that is the goal, then start marching down that road. If not, be quiet, Next, I’m no fan of the acting assessor. How someone gets to be acting assessor for a decade or more is a mystery to me. I am willing to be educated on that. The number of churches increasing in the city is not actually indicative of anything related to real estate tax. And that’s probably what he’s checking. Church buildings owned by a religious organization are tax exempt. Churches inside rented commercial property do not make that building exempt from real estate taxes. Only church - owned fixtures inside are exempt.

There are several reasons why Yale should not be taxed as an institution, and why the city of New Haven benefits from having Yale as a tax-exempt organization.

First, Yale is a non-profit educational institution that contributes significantly to the local community through its educational programs, research initiatives, and community outreach. Yale provides high-quality education to its students, many of whom stay in the area after graduation, contributing to the local economy and workforce.

Second, as a non-profit institution, Yale is required to reinvest any surplus revenue into the institution's programs and initiatives, rather than distributing profits to shareholders. This means that any financial benefit that Yale receives is used to support its educational mission and benefit the community, rather than enriching private individuals.

Third, Yale provides significant benefits to the city of New Haven, including substantial donations to local organizations, partnerships with local businesses, and a significant source of employment for the city. According to a recent study, Yale contributes approximately $4.5 billion to the Connecticut economy each year, and supports over 36,000 jobs in the state.

In addition to these benefits, Yale also plays an important role in the cultural and intellectual life of the city. Its museums, libraries, and research centers are open to the public, and provide opportunities for community members to engage with cutting-edge research and artistic works.

Overall, the benefits that Yale provides to the city of New Haven and the state of Connecticut far outweigh any potential tax revenue that the city might receive from taxing the institution. Yale's tax-exempt status allows it to continue to provide high-quality education, research, and community outreach programs that benefit the local community and contribute to the economic vitality of the region.

So Alder Festa consistently questions and votes against affordable housing measures. Yet, she wants to spend city money to subsidize Tesla drivers? Is she better suited to represent a district in Westport?