Town of Southington, CT Chapter 375 Taxation

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Southington as Ch. 18 of the 1989 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Town's power to tax — See Charter, Section 310.

Planning and development agencies — See Ch. 112.

§ 375-1 Apportionment of property tax.

The Town hereby adopts the provisions of Section 7-346 of the Connecticut General Statutes, permitting the apportionment of property tax over a period of years.

§ 375-2 Solar energy heating and cooling system exemption.

[Added 7-11-1977]

The Town hereby authorizes the property tax exemption for solar energy heating or cooling systems set forth in Section 12-81(56)(a)(b)(c) of the Connecticut General Statutes.

§ 375-3 Property tax exemption for the blind.

[Added 3-9-1987]

A. In accordance with the provisions of Section 12-81j of the Connecticut General Statutes, any blind person entitled to the exemption from property tax applicable to the assessed value of property up to the amount of $3,000, as provided under subdivision (17) of Section 12-81 of the Connecticut General Statutes, shall be entitled to an additional exemption from such tax in an amount up to $2,000 of such assessed value, provided such person qualifies under the provisions of such statute.

B. Any person submitting a claim for the additional exemption as provided in such statute shall file an application, on a form prepared for such purpose by the Assessor, not later than the date of the assessment list with respect to which such additional exemption is claimed. Each such application shall include such documentation as required by such statute and such evidence as may be required by the Assessor relating to income.

§ 375-4 Tax stabilization for elderly homeowners.

[Added 7-9-2007[1]]

A. Generally, the Town of Southington hereby enacts tax stabilization for the elderly pursuant to the Connecticut General Statutes for eligible residents of the Town of Southington with the terms and conditions provided herein. Any person who owns real property in the Town of Southington and is liable for the payment of real property taxes to the Town of Southington shall be entitled to tax stabilization on the annual taxes for such real property for the following fiscal year, provided that all of the following conditions are complied with:

(1) Such person is 70 years of age or over by December 31 of the preceding year, and if married, his or her spouse is 62 years of age or over by December 31 of the preceding year and resides with said person, or said person is 62 years of age or over by December 31 of the preceding year and is the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who qualified for tax stabilization under this section at the time of his or her death.

(2) Such person shall have an income level not to exceed $7,000 more than the maximum income requirements under the State of Connecticut Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program. The income guidelines may change annually based on the income levels declared by the State Department of Office of Policy and Management and Intergovernmental Policy Division as provided under C.G.S. § 12-170aa.

[Amended 10-15-2019]

(3) Such person has resided at and paid real estate taxes on a residence located in Southington for a period of one year prior to his or her application for tax stabilization and does not owe delinquent taxes to the Town of Southington.

(4) The property for which the exemption is claimed is the house and house lot which is the legal domicile of such person.

B. Filing. The application in a form to be approved by the Tax Assessor and the Town Manager must be filed with the Assessor between February 1 and May 15 for tax stabilization for the next fiscal year.

C. Applicability. The tax stabilization on real property as provided herein shall apply only to the residence itself, the lot on which the residence is located and improvements on said lot.

D. Deferred amount. The deferred amount, that being the amount of taxes paid versus the amount of taxes that would have been owed, shall be due to the Town of Southington upon termination from the program. Said amount, with interest, shall be liened against the property.

E. Interest. Interest at a rate of 5% will be charged as simple interest (not compounded) on a total deferred amount of tax due each year and shall be paid to the Town upon the applicant's termination from the program.

F. Termination. If any person entitled to the tax stabilization pursuant to this section dies, sells or transfers title to the real property on which the tax stabilization is granted, no additional tax stabilization shall be allowed for his or her interest in the property.

G. Periodic review. Beginning on November 15, 2009, and every November 15 thereafter, the Town Manager and the Finance Director shall prepare a financial impact report pursuant to this section for the Town Council's review.

H. The amount stabilized shall be determined by the taxes on the grand list preceding the application period and remain in effect and unchanged until termination of this section occurs or the following.

I. In the event that under a revaluation, and by applying the current mill rate, the tax owed on a property under this section is less than the stabilized figure granted under this section, then the Assessor shall reset the stabilized tax at the lower figure.

J. The invalidity of any word, clause, section or provision of this section shall not affect the validity of any other part which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts

[1] Editor's Note: Former Sec. 18-4, Tax relief for senior homeowners, added 4-23-1984, was defeated at referendum and removed from the Code.

§ 375-4.1 Additional exemption for persons permanently and totally disabled.

[Added 10-15-2019]

A. Any person entitled to the exemption from property tax applicable to the assessed value of property up to the amount of $1,000, as provided under Subsection (55) of C.G.S. § 12-81, shall be entitled to an additional exemption from such tax in an amount up to $1,000 of such assessed value, provided the total of such person's adjusted gross income as determined for purposes of the federal income tax plus any other income of such person not included in such adjusted gross income, individually if unmarried, or jointly with spouse if married, during the calendar year ending immediately preceding the filing of a claim for any such exemption, but does not include veteran's disability payments. For purposes of determining eligibility for any of such exemptions, such qualifying income may not exceed $14,000 if unmarried, or $16,000 jointly with spouse, if married, provided in no event shall such maximum amounts of qualifying income with respect to any such person be less than the maximum amount of such qualifying income in the case of a married or unmarried person, whichever is applicable, under Subsection (b) of Connecticut General Statutes § 12-170aa, and in the event that such maximum qualifying income under this section is less than the comparable amount under said Subsection (b) of § 12-170aa for any assessment year, such amount under this section shall be made equivalent to that under said Subsection (b) of § 12-170aa for purposes of determining eligibility under this section for such assessment year.

B. Any person submitting a claim for the additional exemption as provided under Subsection A above, shall be required to file an application, on a form prepared for such purpose by the Assessor, not later than the date of the assessment list with respect to which such additional exemption is claimed. Each such application shall include a copy of such person's federal income tax return or, in the event a return is not filed, such evidence related to income as may be required by the Assessor for the tax year of such person ending immediately prior to the approval of a claim for such additional exemption.

C. This section shall be applicable to the assessment year commencing October 1, 2019, and each assessment year thereafter.

§ 375-4.2 Municipal tax relief program.

[Added 10-15-2019]

A. Program established. The Town of Southington hereby establishes a program from municipal tax relief for homeowners age 65 or over, or permanently or totally disabled, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 12-129n.

B. Eligibility. Municipal tax relief shall apply only to real property owned and occupied as a principal residence by residents of the Town who meet the following qualifications:

(1) Sixty-five years of age and over, or whose spouses, living with them, are 65 years of age or over or 60 years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a taxpayer qualified in such municipality under this section at the time of his or her death or with respect to real property on which such residents or their spouses are liable for taxes under C.G.S. § 12-48; or

(2) Under age 65 and eligible in accordance with applicable federal regulations to receive permanent total disability benefits under social security, or have not been engaged in employment covered by social security and accordingly have not qualified for benefits thereunder, but have become qualified for permanent total disability benefits under any federal, state or local government retirement or disability plan, including the Railroad Retirement Act and any government-related teacher's retirement plan, in which requirements with respect to qualifications for such permanent total disability benefits are comparable to such requirements under social security.

(3) Such residents or their spouses under Subsection B(1) or (2) above have been taxpayers in the Town of Southington for one year immediately preceding their receipt of tax benefits under this section.

(4) Such residents or their spouses shall have lived in the subject dwelling to which said tax relief shall be applied for at least six months and one day in each year of application for said tax relief.

(5) Income eligibility requirements shall be: no more than $7,000 more than the maximum income requirements under the State of Connecticut Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program. The income guidelines may change annually based on the income levels declared by the State Department of Office of Policy and Management and Intergovernmental Policy Division as provided under C.G.S. § 12-170aa.

C. Benefits. Eligible applicants will be granted a reduction in their municipal real estate tax liability in an amount set annually by the Tax Assessor, as a flat rate.

D. Administration. This program shall be administered in the form and manner prescribed by the Tax Assessor for the Town under the following conditions:

(1) Those who meet all the requirements of eligibility above shall be entitled to a reduction in their municipal real estate tax liability in an amount set annually by the Tax Assessor as a flat rate. For the first year of this program, based on the October 2019 Grand List, the benefit amount under this section shall not exceed $250.

(2) The residence in Southington must be the primary residence of the applicant and the homeowner must verify they are not receiving tax relief in any other state or municipality.

(3) Applications for relief under this section must be made to the Southington Tax Assessor between February 1 and May 15 of the calendar year following the October 1 Grand List being published.

(4) Deferred amount. The deferred amount, that being the amount of taxes paid versus the amount of taxes that would have been owed had the resident not received tax relief under this section, shall be due to the Town of Southington upon termination from the program. Said amount shall be liened against the property. No interest shall accrue on the deferred amount.

(5) Residents who owe taxes to the Town on the subject dwelling or any other property in the Town, except for those allowed under assessment reduction statutes, shall be ineligible for this tax relief benefit.

§ 375-5 Enterprise zone.

[Added 9-11-1995]

A. Definition of zone area. That area delineated on the Enterprise Zone Boundary Map as submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development is designated as an "enterprise zone." Such area contains Census Tract 4306.01, as defined by the 1990 Census, and shall include any changes to said map hereinafter approved by said Commissioner.

B. Benefits.

(1) Fixed assessments.

(a) All real property in the enterprise zone which is improved during the period when such area is designated as an enterprise zone shall have its real estate assessments fixed. Such fixed assessment shall be for a period of seven years from the time of such improvements and shall defer any increase in assessment attributable to such improvements according to the following schedule:

Year	Percent of Increase Deferred
First	100%
Second	100%
Third	50%
Fourth	40%
Fifth	30%
Sixth	20%
Seventh	10%

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a municipality may negotiate the fixing of assessments on the portion of improvements by a taxpayer which exceed a value of $80,000,000 to real property which is to be used for commercial or retail purposes.

(2) Any fixed assessment on any residential property shall cease if:

(a) For any residential rental property, any dwelling unit in such property is rented to any person whose income exceeds 200% of the median family income of the municipality; or

(b) For any condominium conversion declared after the designation of the enterprise zone, any unit is sold to any person whose income exceeds 200% of the median family income of the municipality.

(3) In the event of a general revaluation by the Town in the year in which such improvement is completed, resulting in any increase in the assessment on such property, only that a portion of the increase resulting from such improvement shall be deferred. In the event of a general revaluation in any year after the year in which such improvement is completed, such deferred assessment shall be increased or decreased in proportion to the increase or decrease in the total assessment on such property as a result of such revaluation.

(4) No improvement on any real property which qualifies as a manufacturing facility under Section 32-9p(d) of the Connecticut General Statutes shall be eligible for any fixed assessment pursuant to this section. The fixing of assessment for such manufacturing property shall be in accordance with state statutes.

C. Administration. The Economic Development Administrator shall administer the Enterprise Zone Program in the Town of Southington.

§ 375-6 Certain motor vehicles exempted from personal property taxation.

[Added 5-24-1999]

A. Pursuant to the provisions of the C.G.S. § 12-81c, the Town hereby exempts from personal property taxation:

(1) Any ambulance-type motor vehicle which is used exclusively for the purpose of transporting any medically incapacitated individual, except any motor vehicle used to transport any such individual for profit; or

(2) Any motor vehicle owned by a person with disabilities which is equipped, after its original manufacture, for purposes of adapting its use to the disability of such person.

B. For the purposes of this section, a motor vehicle that is entitled to the exemption described in Subsection A(1) or (2) above shall be defined as, and limited to, a motor vehicle [as defined in C.G.S. § 14-1(53)] that is either: 1) an ambulance-type motor vehicle shall include motor vehicle adapted with special lift device so as to provide a person who is disabled or the owner's disabled parents, spouse, sibling or child with transportation; or 2) has been equipped, after its original manufacture, with devices or features specifically adapted to allow the use of the vehicle by a person with disabilities, provided: a) that the person with disabilities is the owner of the vehicle; b) that the equipment allows such owner to operate the vehicle on a public street or highway; c) that such owner would not be physically capable of operating such vehicle without such equipment; and d) that such equipment would not be necessary for a person without such disabilities to operate the vehicle on a public street or highway. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, no such exemption shall be valid unless the person claiming such exemption submits to the Assessor such reasonable proof of entitlement to such exemption as the Assessor may require. Such proof may include, but is not limited to, current motor vehicle registration, photograph of the motor vehicle, medical report establishing the applicant's disability and invoices for such equipment and installation. Application for inclusion and submission of proof(s) shall be no later than December 31 in any calendar year in order to be effective for the assessment year beginning the prior October 1. Failure to file within the time limits prescribed, in the manner and form as prescribed, shall be considered a waiver of the right to such exemption.

§ 375-7 Volunteer tax abatement.

[Added 9-27-1999]

A. Pursuant to the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes § 12-81w, the Tax collector is hereby authorized and directed to grant abatement of real and/or personal property taxes in an amount not more than $2,000 to resident volunteer firefighters, emergency medical technicians, who are certified by the Town's Fire Chief to have been duly appointed and providing services in accordance with the rules and regulations of the two-tiered system of the volunteer incentive plan of the Board of Fire Commission or its successor Town agency, as set forth in Subsection D herein, during the prior fiscal year.

[Amended 2-25-2013; 10-28-2019; 4-26-2021]

B. The Fire Chief shall, on or before June 21 of each year, provide the Tax Collector with a certified list of the names and addresses of each resident volunteer who served during the expiring fiscal year, setting forth the number of months served during such expiring fiscal year served by such volunteer and the percent of annual benefit qualified for in accordance with the provision of Subsection A above.

C. This section shall also apply to any individual who is a retired volunteer fireman, retired volunteer fire police officer or retired emergency medical technician who has completed at least 25 years of service as a volunteer fireman, volunteer fire police officer or volunteer emergency medical technician in the Town of Southington.

[Added 9-12-2016[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections C, D and E as Subsections D, E and F, respectively.

D. The Tax Collector shall determine the amount of such abatement by dividing the number of months so certified for each individual volunteer by the number 12 and multiplying that product by either $1,000 or $2,000, depending on the individual's qualification under the two-ticred system. The Tax Collector shall then apply the percentage of the plan each volunteer qualifies for and apply such sum to the tax payment due from said volunteer in the succeeding July and any remaining balance thereof to the tax payment due the succeeding January.

[Amended 10-28-2019; 4-26-2021]

E. Said abatement credit shall be applied first to the amount due for real property taxes and the balance, if any, to personal property taxes, unless such volunteer or his legal representative shall request in writing a different application of such abatement. The volunteer may also direct that such abatement be applied to taxes on property held for his or her personal use which is held in the name of a trust or his or her spouse.

F. The first abatement hereunder shall apply to the taxes on the grand list of October 1, 2020, due in July of 2021, and January of 2022.

[Amended 10-28-2019; 4-26-2021; 6-24-2021]

§ 375-8 Veterans property tax exemption.

[Added 12-22-2003; amended 10-13-2015; 1-24-2022]

A. Pursuant to Section 12-81 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Tax Collector and Assessor are hereby authorized and directed to grant an exemption of real and or personal property tax assessments in an amount of $10,000 to veterans and their surviving spouses beginning with the grand list of October 2004. To be eligible for this benefit, the veteran or the surviving spouse must be currently qualified to receive the veterans property tax exemption and have an income not to exceed $64,400 for a single veteran or the surviving spouse of a veteran or $72,600 for a married veteran.

B. The first exemption period shall apply to the taxes on the grand list of October 1, 2021, due in July of 2022 and January of 2023.

C. The income limitations provided in Subsection A shall be adjusted annually to mirror the Social Security Administration's annual cost of living adjustment percentage.

§ 375-9 Withholding of building applications when taxes and sewers are delinquent.

[Added 4-13-2009]

A. As provided in Connecticut General Statutes, § 7-148, no building application for any property for which taxes, sewer rate charges or assessments are delinquent is to be issued by the Building Official. All building applications shall be withheld until such time as the Tax Collector and Sewer Official verify in writing to the Building Official that there are no delinquent taxes, sewer use charges or assessments on the property for which the building application is sought.

B. The Town Manager shall have the authority to authorize the issuance of a building application on property for which taxes, sewer use charges or assessments are delinquent if it is determined by the Town Manager that the circumstances warrant such action.

C. Notification of the Town Manager's decision shall be provided in writing.