Grand list grows, but only a little

CORNWALL — The grand list has grown just .8 percent, a tiny increase but, still, one that adds up to $3.659 million.

To look at it from another perspective, the total net grand list (after exemptions) is $448,195,140.

The change this year pales in comparison to last year’s, which was 82.7 percent, or more than $201 million, following a revaluation of all taxable proprty in the town.

That revaluation, or reassessment, of properties was based largely on a surge in market values. But a great impact was felt with corrections and updates applied to a majority of assessments. A year of hard work by Assessor Barbara Bigos and her assistant, Barbara Cantoni (now the town finance officer), preceded the revaluation. The process made what was never going to be an easy revaluation much less tumultuous than it could have been.

The results of a thorough job well done are evident with a new grand list that has held steady.

The 2007 total net assessments for real estate is $427,711,420. Personal property (business equipment) is $7,345,660. Motor vehicles are valued at a total of $13,138,060.

A virtually unchanged grand list, the vehicle by which the town raises tax dollars, will have a bearing on budget deliberations. No change means no new revenues to offset potential budget increases, rising energy costs or the potential decrease in state and federal aid to towns.