Assessor's 2021 Revaluation
Click here to view Andover's Revaluation and Mill Rate History
Click here to view the list of Andover 2021 Revaluation Sales
What is a Revaluation and why is it done?
In Connecticut, all property is taxed “ad valorem” which is Latin for “according to value”. Since your property is taxed according to value, and property condition as well as the real estate market both fluctuate, state law requires every city and town to perform a new town-wide revaluation every five years.
Revaluation is done in order to address changes in property condition as well as current market values and shift property taxes based on those changes.
It would be too costly to perform a town-wide revaluation every year however it would not be fair to wait longer than five years in order to address inadequacies that develop over time.
Current Requirements:
Pursuant to Connecticut State Law, every municipality must implement a new town-wide revaluation every five (5) years. These laws also require each municipality to “fully inspect” each property at least once every ten (10) years. By statutory definition:
“Full inspection” or “fully inspect” means to measure or verify the exterior dimensions of a building or structure and to enter and examine the interior of such building or structure in order to observe and record or verify the characteristics and conditions thereof, provided permission to enter such interior is granted by the property owner or an adult occupant;
Andover's Schedule:
Andover last implemented a town-wide revaluation effective for the October 1, 2016 Grand List in which we did not fully inspect the interior of every parcel. Andover is required by law to implement a new town-wide revaluation for the October 1, 2021 Grand List that includes full inspections.
While the Grand List (a listing of all taxable & exempt property within the municipality) is based on the date of October 1, 2021, it gets completed and certified by the end of January, or February, 2022 and effects tax bills that are issued in July of 2022.
Andover released an RFP (request for proposals) in January 2020, after which the town received and reviewed bids from prospective contractors and awarded the bid to VGSI (Vision Government Solutions, Inc.) in early February 2020. VGSI is the same company who performed revaluations in Andover in 2006, 2011, & 2016.
COVID-19:
With the ongoing issues related to COVID-19, many residents may not want to allow someone into their home in order to complete the full inspection process. While the town understands this, we have spoken with representatives from the state and, until there is a change in the law, or an executive order from the Governor relieving us from this requirement, we have no choice but to proceed attempting to complete interior inspections as part of this project.
Recognizing our deadline for completing this project and the current state mandates in place, the town cannot afford to sit idle and wait for the possibility of legislation that lessens our current requirements. At the same time, we are not comfortable asking property owners to allow interior inspections at this time.
Therefore, the town and the contractor have entered into a supplemental agreement and modified how our revaluation project will proceed.
Revaluation Contract Amendment:
In October 2020, the town and VGSI, entered into a Contract Amendment in which both parties:
1.) Defined a “Restricted Period” as that period of time during which special precautions be taken to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
2.) Agreed that during the “Restricted Period”, VGSI shall only:
a.) make an exterior inspection of the property
b.) measure the exterior of all improvements (buildings)
c.) if the property owner is home, verbally obtain interior structure characteristics at the door
d.) if the property owner is not present, leave a notice at the door informing the owner why they visited the property that day
e.) make a note of the date of the visit to the property and the results of such visit
f.) comply with all recommended social distancing protocols established by the US Center for Disease Control.
3.) Agreed that after the “Restricted Period” has ended, VGSI shall:
a.) Send a letter to each property owner requesting that they call VGSI in order to set up a time in which to complete the interior inspection
Interior Inspections:
While the town and its Contractors are required by law to attempt to inspect the interior of every parcel, property owners have the legal right to refuse the interior inspection request.
Any property owners who wish to refuse the interior inspection process may notify the contractor during the exterior inspection process or after receiving the letter requesting the owner to contract the vendor and set up an appointment.
CURRENT Revaluation Status Update October, 2021
The “field review” phase of the project began in August and is still ongoing. During this phase VGSI staff and the town assessor are driving down every street, or driveway, conducting the final review of each property in order to confirm accuracy of the new data on each property record card.
VGSI began inspecting the properties with outstanding building permits in October. Any property that took out a building permit in order to make changes, improvements, remodeling, or adding something to their existing property can expect a visit from VGSI staff. This inspection will be in order to determine what has been added or changed, make the corrections/additions on the property record card, and include those changes as part of the valuation process.
VGSI employees adhere to all CDC requirements, will have photo ID, and their names and vehicles are listed with the Resident State Trooper and Town Assessor’s Office. Currently VGSI has three employees completing the going property to property conducting Data Collection that will be used in the revaluation process. Their names are:
Kevin Johnson Doug Woodmansee Kenneth Nadeau
These employees have photo IDs from VGSI as well as an introductory letter from Andover Town Assessor, John Chaponis, on Andover Town Letterhead.
Additionally, John Chaponis, town assessor, is also in the field conducting field review.
The next phase of the project will be the final valuation after which VGSI will mail a Notice of Assessment Change to every property owner. We expect those notices to go out in the mail during the first two weeks of December.
Once you have received your notice with your new value, property owners wishing to have their new assessments reviewed through an informal hearing with a representative of VGSI may do so by scheduling an appointment. Information on scheduling appointments will be provided on the Notice of Assessment Change.
Any property owners who feel aggrieved by the assessment process after having conducted an informal hearing with VGSI, may file an appeal with the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) which meets in March of 2022. In other to have a hearing before the BAA, property owners must submit a fully completed application on or before February 20, 2021.
Anyone who has any questions regarding VGSI, their employees, or the revaluation project as a whole, is encouraged to contact the town Assessor’s Office at (860) 742-7305 extension 5 or via email at: assessor@andoverct.org