1. August 8, 2019 Property Revaluation Information Session
Assessors’ Office – City of Norwich
Donna L. Ralston, CCMA II, Assessor
William Lee, CCMA I, Assessment Analyst

2. Topics of Discussion
Who is the Assessor and what is their responsibility
What is revaluation
Why do we do revaluation
How do we do revaluation
Revaluation or Mass Appraisal Results
How will I know if my assessment is equitable
If I disagree with my assessment, what are my options
2018 Grand List as filed, after BAA
2018 Grand List as compared to the 2017 Grand List
Mill Rate Calculation

3. Who is the Assessor?
The Assessor is the Town official responsible for discovering, listing and valuing all taxable and tax exempt property for the City.
There are three classes of Property:
Real Estate – Valued at 70% of “Market Value” every 5 years
Motor Vehicle- Valued at 70% of “Average Retail” EACH year
Personal Property-Valued at 70% of its’ depreciated value each year
Total of all three classes of property values equals
“GRAND LIST”

4. What is Revaluation?
A revaluation or Mass Appraisal is the process of performing all of the necessary Market Analysis and valuation steps in order to determine “accurate” and “equitable” Fair Market Values for all properties within a municipality as of a specific date.
Fair Market value is defined by our CT statutes as the price established between a willing, unpressured buyer and a willing, unpressured seller, taking into consideration all of the uses to which the property is adapted

5. Why do we conduct a revaluation?
Required to be completed every 5 years, in accordance with §12-62
The purpose of a revaluation is NOT to raise taxes but to create a “equitable distribution” of the tax burden.
Because properties appreciate and/or depreciate at different rates, a revaluation is a “equalization” process… ensuring that owners are paying only their fair share of the property tax burden.

6. How we do a revaluation?
We contracted with a reputable, certified revaluation company.
First, all properties must be measured and listed at least once within a 12 year period – very important for confirming current information and estimating depreciation.
Mass Appraisal requires the examination of all 3 approaches to value.
Cost Approach: Value of land added to the replacement cost new less depreciation of the building (model developed)
Sales Comparison Approach: Analyzing recent sales (model developed)
Income Approach: Collect and analyze the income and expenses from all income-producing properties (VERRY important for an accurate value)and capitalize that information into an estimate of value. (model developed)
Vacant land: Research and identify neighborhoods (not zones) within the City (may change from reval to reval in accordance with sales analysis) There may be many neighborhoods within a zone or many zones within a neighborhood.

7. Revaluation or Mass Appraisal Results
Mass appraisal is the systematic appraisal of groups of properties as of a given date (Oct 1)
The valuation models developed are applied to each class of properties: ie; Vacant land, Residential, Commercial/Industrial
Values do not increase or decrease at the same rate.
In Norwich, on average residential properties increased.
Even within the class of residential some may have decreased
Commercial/ Industrial properties also increased but at a greater rate than residential

8. How will I know if my assessment is equitable
There are two very good methods to determine this
First, compare your properties to similar properties that sold the previous year. Your value should be in-line with the sale prices.
Second, if no recent sales are available, compare your assessment to other similar properties in your area.
NOTE*** very few properties are exactly alike. Your value should be comparable, but will seldom be exactly the same.
Comparing %age increases or decreases is not a method of comparison as properties do not change at the same rate. Also, because of various assessment deferral programs, exemptions may change form year to year affecting the net assessment for tax purposes

9. If I disagree with my assessment, what are my options?
The revaluation firm sends out the initial notice of assessment and offers an option for an informal hearing to anyone who has questions about their assessment or even just to verify property information.
After the grand list is filed, an option to attend the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) hearings is allowed by statute, provided an application is timely filed.
If the property owner still feels the assessment is incorrect, they may appeal to the Superior Court.

10. 2018 Grand List after BAA RE MV PP TOTAL 13085 $ 1,650,891,665 82.84%
$ ,650,891,665
82.84% MV
28478
$ ,205,899
9.54% PP
1792
$ ,791,030
7.62%
TOTAL
44238
$ ,992,888,594
EXEMPT
883
$660,504,709
2018 GROSS GRAND LIST BY CLASSIFICATION
R E Classification
# of Acc'ts
2018 Gross After BAA
Residential - 100
11173
$ ,069,633,440
64.12%
Commercial - 200
942
$ ,880,781
22.65%
Industrial - 300 69
$ ,816,425
3.77%
Public Utility - 400 13
$ ,526,600
0.27%
Vacant Land - 500
2023
$ ,396,700
2.36%
Use Assessment - 600
104
$ ,438,900
0.09%
Apartments - 800
192
$ ,364,625
6.74%
14516
$ ,668,057,471

11. 2018 Gr Lst After BAA-Compared to 2017
CITY OF NORWICH
2018 NET TAXABLE GRAND LIST - AFTER BAA
REVALUATION
CATEGORY
# of Acc'ts
2018 NET after BAA
2017 Net
DIFFERENCE
% Incr/Decr RE
13085
$ 1,650,891,665
$1,518,618,150
$132,273,515
8.710% MV
28478
$ ,205,899
$192,464,520
-$2,258,621
-1.174% PP
1792
$ ,791,030
$151,963,720
-$172,690
-0.114%
TOTAL
44238
$ 1,992,888,594
$1,863,046,390
$129,842,204
6.969%
EXEMPT
883
$660,504,709
$554,530,970
$105,973,739
2018 GROSS GRAND LIST BY CLASSIFICATION
R E Classification
2018 Gross After BAA
2017 Gross
Residential - 100
11173
$ 1,069,633,440
$1,036,607,120
$33,026,320
3.186%
Commercial - 200
942
$ ,880,781
$319,927,740
$57,953,041
18.114%
Industrial - 300 69
$ ,816,425
$48,211,750
$14,604,675
30.293%
Public Utility - 400 13
$ ,526,600
$2,236,100
$2,290,500 %
Vacant Land - 500
2023
$ ,396,700
$40,129,800
-$733,100
-1.827%
Use Assessment - 600
104
$ ,438,900
$1,395,400
$43,500
3.117%
Apartments - 800
192
$ ,364,625
$89,301,620
$23,063,005
25.826%
14516
$ 1,668,057,471
$1,537,809,530
$130,247,941
8.470%

12. Class of Taxable Property
Grand List Analysis
REVAL
Change from
Class of Taxable Property
2007
% OF TOT
2008
prev GR Lst
2012
2013
2017
2018
REAL ESTATE
$ 1,571,983,940
84.82%
$2,089,280,967
88.506%
$2,107,538,510
86.93%
$1,482,203,920
82.41%
$ 1,518,618,150
81.51%
$ 1,648,851,295
82.80%
MOTOR VEHICLE
$ ,596,140
9.69%
$ 169,274,800
7.171%
$ 188,645,670
7.78%
$ 196,087,420
10.90%
$ ,464,520
10.33%
$ ,872,711
9.64%
PERSONAL PROPERTY
$ ,628,285
5.48%
$ 102,042,417
4.323%
$ 128,214,890
5.29%
$ 120,273,810
6.69%
$ ,963,720
8.16%
$ ,539,630
7.56%
Total
$ 1,853,208,365
$2,360,598,184
27.38%
$2,424,399,070
2.63%
$1,798,565,150
-34.80%
$ 1,863,046,390
3.46%
$ 1,991,263,636
6.44%
Exempt
$ ,705,000
$ 409,604,000
14.637%
$ 575,299,300
18.97%
$ 560,151,900
23.40%
$ ,580,710
22.05%
$ ,790,709
24.27%
TOTAL GROSS GRAND LIST
$ 1,918,421,115
$2,798,483,694
$3,033,454,640
$2,394,086,830
$ 2,496,507,260
$ 2,735,483,991
Gross Grand List By Classification
RE CLASSIFICATION
Residential
$ 1,097,528,700
69.45%
$1,560,135,200
74.424%
$1,526,305,700
71.874%
$1,015,821,200
67.90%
$ 1,036,607,120
67.41%
$ 1,069,819,140
64.21%
Commercial
$ ,461,000
17.81%
$ 379,848,200
18.120%
$ 401,400,300
18.902%
$ 302,733,300
20.24%
$ ,927,740
20.80%
$ ,992,681
22.51%
Industrial
$ ,079,000
3.74%
$ 60,315,000
2.877%
$ ,222,800
2.648%
$ 42,460,700
2.84%
$ ,211,750
3.14%
$ ,905,525
3.78%
Public Utility
$ ,420,000
0.28%
$ ,860,000
0.280%
$ ,264,000
0.107%
$ ,927,700
0.13%
$ ,236,100
0.15%
$ ,526,600
0.27%
Vacant Land
$ ,449,500
3.19%
0.000%
$ ,429,000
2.516%
$ 45,026,400
3.01%
$ ,129,800
2.61%
$ ,532,400
2.37%
Use Assessment
$ ,143,600
0.07%
$ ,011,500
0.048%
$ ,157,800
0.055%
$ ,201,900
0.08%
$ ,395,400
0.09%
$ ,438,900
Apartments
$ ,267,000
5.46%
$ 89,099,000
4.250%
$ ,803,000
3.899%
$ 86,901,800
5.81%
$ ,301,620
$ ,907,025
6.78%
TOTAL
$ 1,580,348,800
$2,096,268,900
$2,123,582,600
$1,496,073,000
$ 1,537,809,530
$ 1,666,122,271
Mill Rates - City/Town
34.10/29.66
27.11/23.84
32.27/27.59
45.93/39.04
47.99/40.64
Mill Rates MV-City Town
45.0/41.46
45.0/40.64

14. Mill Rate Calculation FY2019 FY2020 Change % Change 47,605,582
City of Norwich
General Fund
Summary of Budget Changes from FY to FY
FY2019
FY2020
Change
% Change
Expenditures
General City
47,605,582
48,889,953
1,284,371
2.70%
Education
78,469,829
81,039,000
2,569,171
3.27%
Total General Fund a
126,075,411
129,928,953
3,853,542
3.06%
Revenues
All revenues excluding the current real (RE) and personal property (PP) tax levy ¹ b
59,396,257
59,702,572
306,315
0.52%
Current Levy on RE & PP ¹
c = a-b
66,679,154
70,226,381
3,547,227
5.32%
Grand List (Just RE & PP)
1,666,571,857
1,781,411,515
114,839,658
6.89%
Collection Rate ²
97.56%
97.88%
0.32%
Collectible Grand List (Just RE & PP) d
1,625,907,504
1,743,645,591
117,738,087
7.24%
Mill Rate
e = c/(d/1000)
41.01
40.28
(0.73)
-1.78%

15. Revaluation analysis by Assessment Analyst, Bill Lee
Revaluations are used to bring property values up or down to current market conditions. Each revaluation is a new beginning, an opportunity to examine current conditions affecting value. That includes current market data (sales), current market rents (for commercial properties) and current costs to construct different styles of buildings (using current labor rates and material costs)
The more consistency you have between a City and a revaluation company and subsequently their employees and appraisers, the better the end product becomes. Appraisers get a chance to become more familiar with certain properties and areas of the city when we have consistency.
In Norwich, the past 6 revaluations have been done by 4 different revaluation companies, this is the first time since 1988 that the same company has done back to back revaluations. Every company has different methods and practices and the conversion process from one company to another, is often messy. The last revaluation done by Vision in 2013 was not only a statistical revaluation but also a conversion from another company, because of this we were left with some inconsistencies. After the revaluation we believe we have cleared many of these issues up and have much more consistent values.
Make no mistake, the revaluation process is never flawless. There can be errors and omissions that’s why we urge all taxpayers to look at their property record cards, whether in our office or online through the Vision government solutions database (you can find a link to that on the Assessors page).
Ask questions, find out what the codes mean that make up your buildings sketch. Check the # of bedrooms and bathrooms, check to see if we still have a pool on the card that you took down last year.
Probably best yet, when it’s time for the next revaluation allow the inspector to view the property…both inside and out. Many people don’t allow the data collectors access for fear of their “taxes going up” but the inspection process uncovers things all the time that are actually in the tax payers favor. These data collectors are trained to look for clues and are forced to make assumptions when they don’t get access to the interior of buildings. They might see curtains or drywall through a window over a garage, or furniture through a basement window…in that situation their instinct might be to add that space as living area, but in reality it may be just for aesthetics, to block the sunlight or for storage. The revaluation process is not about trying to find things, but rather to make sure we have the most up to date, accurate information about a property!

16. Commercial property owners take advantage of the process of filling out income and expense documents. This is an important piece of commercial property appraisals. It’s your chance to tell us about vacancies in your building, expenses incurred and rents collected. Please don’t try and provide inaccurate numbers or misinformation because this can end up hurting you. This could cause your property to be valued differently than it actually should be. The commercial appraisers have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to market rents in Norwich, in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast…most times they can tell immediately that the rents provided are too low or too high. When this happens they will always default to the market rents for that particular style of property in that area. 
I have some examples of the issues we have corrected or encountered recently.
I have been out to 2 commercial buildings that have been listed as having below grade unfinished areas of their buildings-
One of the buildings had not granted interior access to the data collector and because of the slope of the land of the property and the fact that it abutted the river you could not walk around the entire building, but from a distance and awkward angle you could see windows to what was actually crawl space. Since there was no interior inspection granted the data collector assumed the sketch was correct and it indeed did have a lower level.
The other building had granted access but stated that they didn’t have time to show the entire building…the data collector was given only limited access and could not confirm all aspects of the sketch and by default had to keep the sketch as it was previously drawn.

17. PRIOR TO REVAL AFTER REVAL BUILDING #1 SF 4881 5263 GRADE C+
COMMERCIAL BUILDING COMPARISON
PRIOR TO REVAL
AFTER REVAL
BUILDING #1 SF
4881
5263
GRADE C+
VALUE INCREASE OF
BLDG USE
OFFICE
17%
DEP CODE G
LAND AREA
0.1
BUILDING #2
5784
5824 C
39%
0.2

18. The next two slides are :
#1 a copy of the back of a commercial property record card so that you might see what information is collected and what fields you can identify and verify the accuracy of the information.
#2 is the back of a residential property record card for the same reasons.

21. That concludes our revaluation information session.
We hope that we were able to clarify the purposes of revaluations and that the process is better understood.
Much thanks to Mayor Nystrom and City Manager John Salomone for organizing the forum.
Please do not hesitate to call the Assessors Office with any questions you might still have.
Donna L. Ralston, CCMA II, Assessor
William Lee, CCMA I, Assessment Analyst
(860)