By Janice Sina
(March 18, 2026) — Homeowners generally find it rewarding to invest a fair amount of time, effort and money to maintain their properties. They find comfort in the places they call home and enjoy knowing friends and neighbors live nearby. Indeed, it is that sense of community in a town such as Haddam that makes living here desirable. But there’s a necessary flip side, quoting Benjamin Franklin who said, “Nothing is said to be certain except death and taxes.” As part of a community, we all contribute to town services in the form of yearly taxes, and a large proportion of this money comes from the assessed value of our property. When assessments go up, people immediately assume that taxes will rise too. And with property assessments increasing significantly following the 2025 state-mandated revaluation, it has many residents wondering if their taxes might also rise significantly. For example, if your property values increased by 40%, does this mean your taxes will rise by 40% also? Even if Benjamin Franklin was right and you can count on paying more in taxes, it is unlikely that such an increase will occur.
An unusual sequence of events precipitated this current situation. The first one really has nothing to do with Haddam itself and everything to do with Covid-19. The last revaluation for the town was 2020, as revaluations are mandated every five years. At that time, the assessments stayed relatively stable. But as Covid-19 spread, companies initiated a work-from-home policy and people wanted out of crowded cities where it was hard to consistently put six feet between you and the next person. Many had the means to move to rural areas and pay cash above the asking price for homes. It was a widespread event across the United States. As Assessor Tammy Anderson put it, “Since then, the market has been climbing, and this 2025 reval hit at this high point. It was a surprise to many people.” That included Finance Director Ann Harter. “I’ve never seen this kind of jump, and I’ve been in this business almost forty years,” she said.
Unrelated to property values, this year’s proposed town budget will also affect taxes, which go toward maintaining town departments and the infrastructure necessary for a thriving town. At the Town Meeting on February 12, 2026, led by Anderson and Harter, their PowerPoint showed how the money is distributed between the Town Office Building and its employees, Social Services, Parks and Recreation, the Senior Center, Brainerd Memorial Library, Public Works, and Public Safety. The largest portion of the budget, at 75%, goes to education. Haddam’s portion is proposed to increase 11% for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. If you weren’t able to attend the February 12th meeting, the PowerPoint can be viewed on the Town of Haddam website, www.haddam.org/520/Assessor. “We are a well-managed town with an AAA rating,” stated Harter. “We’ve got several weeks before we know exactly what our numbers are. The school budget goes to referendum in the first week of May. We’re not going to know what our mill rate is until it is set on May 20, 2026. The BOF is going to try to do everything they can to try to keep the budget down.”
Another concept both Anderson and Harter want people to understand is that the assessment process is completely separate from the process of setting the mill rate and determining the amount in taxes residents will pay. The mill rate is set after property values are assessed and after residents have had an opportunity to appeal their assessments. Median market values for residential properties rose from $324,000 in 2020 to $505,000 in 2025. If you made no improvements during that time, your property is worth more just because of circumstances, timing and cost-of-living increases. After, and only after, this assessment process, the mill rate is established. Harter says, “The mill rate will go down. By what amount, we don’t know yet. A lot depends on the schools, which are the biggest part of our budget. We get money from the state for education but it doesn’t cover the proposed increase.” I asked if this type of increase was typical of other districts in Connecticut. Harter wasn’t sure. “We’re all [the districts] just starting to calculate this now. It looks like school transportation is the big thing, but I don’t know how it’s affecting other districts. That, and the cost of everything, has increased.”
So, all things considered, your taxes may go up, however, NOT by the same percentage as your property assessment. And, as a silver lining, a lower mill rate will generate a lower motor vehicle tax bill as the mill rate will be less than the State Motor Vehicle Tax Cap of 32.46. Harter says, “Our total Grand List went up by approximately 43%. I’ve never seen anything like it. There are some years where everything just falls into place, and then there’s a year like this where there’s a reval and the Board of Ed budget is going up.” The key is to stay informed, go to the meetings, and vote on the school budget referendum.
