East Hartford’s property tax rate will increase from 42.45 mills to 44 mills beginning July 1 under the $221.4 million fiscal 2025 budget adopted by the Town Council on Monday.
Mayor Connor Martin, who proposed the budget, acknowledged in a released statement an impact on residents and commercial property owners.
“I don’t take this decision lightly, but it was necessary to balance the budget,” Martin said.
Martin expressed hope that ongoing “aggressive” economic development efforts will help ease the residential tax burden in the future.
The fiscal 2025 budget is an increase of $10.39 million, or 4.9%, over current spending.
The 1.55 mill increase under the budget will add $310 to the annual property tax bill on a single-family property with an assessed value (70% of fair market value) of $200,000. It would add $1,550 to the annual property tax on a commercial property with an assessed value of $1 million.
Martin’s budget proposal, released in late February, noted the dramatic fall-off in the share of the budget covered by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. In 1991, Pratt & Whitney covered $20 million of the town’s $80 million budget, the mayor’s introduction noted. In 2023, the aerospace manufacturer paid about $5 million toward a $211 million budget.
Martin noted several ongoing and proposed commercial developments that will add to the tax base, including the redevelopment of a shuttered hotel on Roberts Street, two massive warehouses recently permitted for occupancy at Rentschler Field, a mixed-use redevelopment of Founders Plaza, a large-scale apartment redevelopment on the former Showcase Cinemas site and more.
But it will take time for the value of ongoing and planned developments to register on the grand list, he noted.
The budget essentially funds existing services. Martin said the council trimmed a proposal to add two police officers and a information technology specialist.
