How are Assessments Derived?

The Assessor’s Office is charged with the valuation of all real estate, motor vehicles and personal property within the town limits.  This is accomplished by Discovering, Listing and Valuing the property. 

We must first discover the property. This can be accomplished by a multitude of sources and may include, but are not limited to:

  • Town Clerk records
  • Property Transfer Deeds
  • Building and Land Use Department Records
  • Planning and Zoning Department
  • Fire Department
  • Motor Vehicle Registrations and/or Department of Motor Vehicle
  • Trade Name Certificates
  • Field Inspections
  • Newspapers and local publications
  • Internet
  • State Licensing Departments
  • Various other State/Regional/Local Authorities/Entities
  • Secretary of State
  • Personal Property Declarations

Once a property is discovered, the Assessor lists the property in the Town Records.  Information about the property is recorded and, if additional information is needed or warranted, the Assessor’s Office will contact the owner for further details. 

After a property is discovered and listed, it must be valued uniformly and equitably with other properties.  Section 12-63 of the Connecticut General Statutes states that the actual value of the property is its Fair Market Value and Section 12-64 states that all property that is not exempt shall be placed on the Grand List of the town in which it is located and shall be liable to taxation.

Property’s Fair Market Value is it’s 100% value.  For assessment purposes in Connecticut, all properties are assessed at 70% of it’s Market Value – this is referred to as the Assessment Ratio.  For instance, if a house has a Market Value of $250,000; it’s Assessment is $175,000.  A property’s assessment, multiplied by the mill rate will equal the taxes due.  For the 2016 Grand List, the mill rate in Haddam is 31.69 mills.  In our example above, to calculate the annual taxes, multiply the assessment by the mill rate.

$175,000 x .03169 = $5,546

Trade publications, manufacturer suggested retail values and the like may be employed to ascertain value when valuing personal property and/or motor vehicles.  

If you have questions, or would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.