In late February the Town released the official Grand List of all taxable property, revised to reflect the 2007 revaluation. As shown on the nearby table, the bottom-line total has increased 40% to $823.5 million. The mill rate recalculated to produce the same revenue as the current year’s budget decreased by 29% to $24.47M. With the lower mill rate, your taxes will not increase unless your assessment increased by more than 40%, at least until next year’s budget has been determined. Believe it or not, there are a few of you – about one in seven – who will see tax decreases as a result of the revaluation. Unfortunately, revaluation means a tax increase for the vast majority of lake area people, averaging more than 20%. A final minor adjustment to the grand list will be made to reflect ongoing appeals being processed by the Board of Assessment Appeals.

Like many smaller Connecticut towns, the numbers reflect a continued shift of property values and tax burden onto residential and especially “premium” residential properties. Our little 1,000-acre Highland Lake District (HLD), with less than 5% of the Town’s land area, now represents 21% of the grand list and nearly one quarter of the Town’s real estate value. Five years ago we were just over 10% of the grand list.

As long as demand for lakefront and water-view properties continues to drive up prices, Highland Lake property owners will continue to pay a disproportionate share of Winchester’s real estate taxes. Our Town leaders often refer to the lake as the “Town’s greatest resource,” alluding to its natural beauty and focus for recreational activities. Hopefully, they will not forget its $4M+ contribution to the Town’s tax revenues and the importance of protecting the lake and the surrounding watershed. The Association will continue to do everything in our power to keep them focused on that objective.

Meanwhile, the relative value of the Town’s commercial and industrial real estate has decreased from 14% five years ago to only 11% now, little more than half the value of the HLD properties. Another dramatic measure of this trend is the total assessed valuation of the 80 properties comprising the entire downtown Main Street business district is about $16M, less than one tenth the valuation of the lake district.

Under the current revaluation, properties in other parts of town – areas around Lake Winchester, Crystal Lake, Park Pond, properties with “views” – were valued with added pricing factors similar to those used for Highland Lake properties. Ranging in value from 1.15 (partial view) to 4.5 (Lake Winchester waterfront), these factors increased assessments, in some cases dramatically, especially properties on Lake Winchester and the other lakes and ponds.

The combined effect of the pricing factors on properties around Highland Lake, Lake Winchester and other prime Winchester areas is to add nearly $84 million to the grand list. To the extent that Vision Appraisal Technologies’ methodology accurately values such property, $84 million is a measure of the incremental market value of the Town’s major waterbodies and viewsheds. It also represents what the Town can lose if these resources are not protected.

One obvious question is where do we go from here? Given the endless drumbeat in the media about the bursting of the “housing bubble,” has there been an impact on lake property values? According to busy local realtor Bob Moore, there’s plenty of interest in lake properties, and so far this year two properties have sold for more than any of last year’s sales. His only concern was the relatively high inventory of unsold properties which may increase once the impact of the revaluation sinks in.