Lisa Schwartz has been the Poet Laureate of Newtown since 2015. The first one appointed by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC) after the Board of Selectmen ...
This is the continuation of a series of articles highlighting 50 years of the Newtown Youth Basketball Association. Please check in upcoming editions of The...
There were “good dogs” and “great listeners” in Sandy Hook Village on February 22, when families, therapy dogs, and handlers converged for a “StoryWalk” hosted ...
Appearance Charge
Police said at about 9:15 am on February 25, they charged Mark Pasqualone, 40, of Bethel, on a warrant, lodging one count of second-degre...
Following technical review at a February 26 session, Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members approved a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for a construct...
The dispatchers at the Newtown Emergency Communications Center at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, report the following fire calls and the responders:
Thursd...
After 19 years of presenting The Great Pootatuck Duck Race on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, Newtown Lions Club has announced a change.
This year’s event...
After 20 years of service to the community, Canine Advocates of Newtown, Inc, (CAN) ended on November 21, 2019. First Selectman Dan Rosenthal made the news publ...
BETHEL — Paul Patterson has always had the heart and soul of a farmer, and now he is ready to share all the success he has enjoyed and friendships he has made a...
The dispatchers at the Newtown Emergency Communications Center at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, report the following calls for Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Cor...
The issue is not that our taxes will go up. The issue is that the assessment came at a time when the pandemic brought folks to Newtown in a frenzy to buy small houses (like mine <2000 sq ft). 13 houses on my street with long time residents sold in less than 2 days each with most getting more than asking. And these 'comps' were used for my assessment (42% increase). Now that the market has stalled, housing prices have dropped dramatically. We will pay increased taxes for the next 5 years until the next assessment corrects this anomaly. And wait for the car tax! Not to mention the 'R' word.
I hope that concerned folks will focus on the budget that we vote to approve each year. It is the primary determinant of the taxes we pay. Assessments are, in a way, the distribution or redistribution of that tax burden across taxpayers based on the value of their homes. Even if there were no revaluation taking place, we would be paying more tax because we voted for an increased budget. The only other offset would be a meaningful increase in businesses or new homes providing additional tax revenues. As I understand it, the mil rate will adjust based on valuations (grand list) to provide the budget we vote for. Taxes will go up until we spend less or get more revenue from new sources.
Editor's Note: It should also be pointed out that NYA (and NVAC) built their own building — which has a footprint larger than Newsylum, Parent Connection, and the Ambulance headquarters combined — that each of the latter organizations also contributed their own significant funds to their construction and improvement projects; and that Newsylum and the Parent Connection both improved existing abandoned buildings that may have otherwise continued to be unused and deteriorating.
