Hartford officials are seeking to delay the city’s next property revaluation by one year, in a move Mayor Arunan Arulampalam has said would help protect homeowners from a larger share of the tax burden as residential property values rise while commercial office values continue to decline.
The City Council on Monday referred the proposal to its Operations, Management, Budget and Government Accountability Committee after Arulampalam formally introduced the measure. The committee is expected to consider the resolution later this month or in early August before sending it back to the full council for a final vote.
The proposal follows legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this year that gives Hartford a one-time option to postpone its scheduled 2026 revaluation to Oct. 1, 2027. Under Connecticut law, municipalities generally must revalue taxable property every five years.
Arulampalam sought the legislative change earlier this year, arguing that Hartford’s residential and commercial real estate markets have been moving in opposite directions. He warned that completing a revaluation this year could shift more of the city’s property tax burden onto homeowners because housing values have climbed while office values have fallen amid persistently high downtown vacancies.
The administration has said delaying the revaluation would provide relief for taxpayers while giving the city more time to add housing, stabilize office values and expand its tax base.
