By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–Almost 400 property owners are making their cases this month that the town has placed too high a value on their homes and businesses for tax purposes.

Throughout this month, the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) is hearing from 330 homeowners seeking to have their assessments lowered. In addition, 60 business owners are contesting their assessments in cases typically heard in Superior Court, said Town Assessor Paul Friia.

In BAA meetings, homeowners present their arguments using data such as sale prices of comparable homes or assessments of neighbors’ properties. That was the case with Sylvan Road resident Mani Palmer, who told the BAA that his property was unfairly valued higher than nearby homes on larger lots.

“They’re on one-acre lots, I’m on half an acre and my assessment is larger,” he said after his appointment with the board in Town Hall last week.

The properties in question, and all others, are included on the town’s 2025 Grand List, which Town Assessor Paul Friia signed off on at $17,497,161,570. It represented an increase of more than 50% over the previous year’s grand list, which was $11,616,471,195, driven mostly by the state-mandated 5-year complete town revaluation conducted last year.

Property owners had until Feb. 20 to file challenges to their assessments. The BAA then began listening to property owners’ arguments and collecting the supporting documents the residents supplied.

“They were very courteous and professional,” said Spicer Road resident Nate Gibbons, a retired fire marshal, after presenting his argument. He had researched 12 recent sales of homes near his to make his case.

The homeowners were told they would receive a letter in April with the BAA’s decision. Property owners who disagree with the decisions can contest them in Superior Court.

Any changes in assessments are reflected in the Grand List, but Friia said the process has not impacted the list significantly in the past and he does not expect it to this year either.

“Typically, the impact is relatively minor,” he said in an email, noting that the 330 homeowners challenging their assessments are a small portion of the town’s 9,800 residential properties.

“Commercial appeals take longer because they typically are handled through Superior Court and won’t initially impact the Grand List,” he said.

The final factor in determining property tax will be the town budget, which is used with the Grand List to calculate the mill rate – the amount in taxes that a property owner pays per $1,000 of assessed value.

“The tax bills go out at the end of June and are payable through the month of July,” Friia said.

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}