KENT — The Board of Finance has formed a subcommittee to study a potential property tax exemption for owner-occupied primary residences.
Subcommittee members Casey Cogut and Jason Wright are gathering information about the option, which neighboring New Milford has implemented.
Connecticut law allows municipalities to adopt a homestead exemption of between 5% and 35% of the assessed value of qualifying owner-occupied primary residences. The exemption requires local approval; it does not apply automatically to all full-time residents.
New Milford’s exemption covers 10% of the assessed value of the primary lot and dwelling for eligible homeowners who make the property their permanent residence.
For example, a 10% exemption on a home assessed at $500,000 would reduce its taxable assessment to $450,000. At an unchanged mill rate, homeowners would see their tax bill drop 10%.
The exemption would reduce the town’s taxable property base. If the town needed to collect the same amount in property taxes, a higher tax rate would offset some of the savings for qualifying homeowners and shift more of the tax burden to properties that do not qualify.
As of Oct. 30, Kent’s review remained preliminary. Board of Finance Chair Nancy O’Dea-Wyrick described the subcommittee as being in its “infancy stage,” with members gathering information before holding their first meeting.
O’Dea-Wyrick said there was no estimated timeline for completing the research. She said the findings would ultimately be brought to the Board of Selectmen for consideration.
“Our subcommittee is at work with the individual members gathering relevant information. We will ultimately present the information at a public subcommittee meeting, or directly to the other Board of Finance members,” Cogut said.
