Stafford, CT — October 2, 2024
Last month, we reported that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) was considering two different tax abatements. One was in response to state legislation that allows towns to abate up to 100% of property taxes for in-home daycares and a letter from a local daycare provider. The other was spurred by a request from Bluebird Construction’s Constantine Constantinou, who owns and is renovating the former Borough School into 20 apartments.
The legislation for the daycare abatement gives the town leeway to abate any amount of the taxes for up to five years. At last month’s meeting, Tami L. Rossi, Stafford’s assessor, told the BOS five properties in town were eligible for this abatement and ran the numbers on a few different scenarios. If the town abated 100% of the property taxes for all of these providers, it would represent a loss of $24,462 per year. A 50% abatement would be a loss of $12,231 per year. She also pointed out that some towns have opted to reduce taxes by a flat amount of $1,000 per dwelling.
The legislation is designed to lower the cost of daycare, which, on average, costs over $1,000 per month in Connecticut. Still, with no daycare providers in the audience at the meeting to speak in favor of the idea, the BOS made quick work of voting down the idea.
Moving on to Constantinou’s request, Selectman Rick Hartenstein told the board he spoke with Rossi, and the building’s current assessment was for $361,760. While the first tax bill was not for a full year, it was for roughly $11,977, and the first installment had been paid. Given that the current budget already considers this contribution, Hartenstein proposed starting a potential abatement in the 2025-2026 tax year. The proposed schedule looked like this:
2025 - 2028: Taxed at 25% of 70% of the assessed value
2028 - 20231: Taxed at 50% of 70% of the assessed value
2031 - 2034: Taxed at 75% of 70% of the assessed value
2034-2035 (and beyond): Taxed at 100% of the assessed value
The reason for potentially giving the abatement was because “the project supports affordable housing, investing in our community, rebuilding a historical building, and adding the property back onto the tax roll.”
Selectman and State Representative Kurt Vail, however, did not favor an abatement. Harkening back to the initial meetings when a different BOS negotiated the sale of the building, he said Constantinou was given a deal because he was taking on the task of cleaning up the building. According to reports from the time, the building sold for $275,000, and “Bluebird Construction already has committed more than $10,000 to the project, including funding the appraisal, asbestos removal, and an environmental study of the property.” On Tuesday, Vail said that the building was valued at $600,000-$700,000 at the time but that a break was given in consideration of the needed work. He also felt that if Constantinou wanted tax abatements, it should have been part of the original discussion.
“I think he should pay his taxes. He bought the building; he knew what the parameters were,” Vail said, also telling the board that he would not support this idea. He said he might think differently about a business that would employ locals.
First Selectman Bill Morrison asked if the board might be interested in abating the taxes until the building was up and running. Hartenstein said that half of the taxes had already been paid and were figured into the current budget, so the first abatement could not be given until next year. Depending on when the building will be finished, Hartenstein was unsure whether that would ultimately result in any meaningful abatement. That brought up the idea of asking Constantinou to come back to another meeting to discuss the construction timeline.
Residents in the audience who did not identify themselves also expressed concerns about the idea. One said he bought a crumbling property that needed major construction and never thought to ask for tax abatements. Another pointed out that the cost of the property tax will eventually be passed on to renters.
Ultimately, the board voted to table the issue again and to gather more information, including thoughts about when the building may be finished.
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