Hamden Resident: Town is Destroying Property Values

This opinion piece was submitted by Hamden resident George Levinson.

The payoff for years of over-spending and foolishly generous benefit commitmentsis here. Hamden’s tax base is crumbling and it is not pretty.

We have driven our mill rate to one of the highest in the state by over-fundingtown services and schools, a crippling health care commitment and unmanageably generous pensions. Given the limited wealth of the town, continuing those high expenditure levels is not possible without massive additional tax increases.

My own neighborhood is being devastated.

Last month my next-door neighbor’s home was sold at short sale for half his purchase price. My second neighbor’s house will be sold at foreclosure next month; her losses are likely to be just as bad. My own house is appraised for $30,000 less than my cost and I have been here for 32 years. Hamden’s spending and personnel policies are the root cause of our losses.

Think about it. Each year we pay about 3 percent of our home value in taxes and for six years running values have dropped 5 percent average. Between taxes and lost equity, every homeowner has effectively lost about half their value and there is no end in sight. The most insidious factor is that, due to the financial strain caused by the weak economy and the tax burden, many houses are being under-maintained and neglected. Our homes are deteriorating both physically and financially.

Zillow reports that since the financial crisis began, Hamden’s median home value has declined 30 percent. While other towns have started to recover, last year Hamden lost another 1 percent. There will be no substantial recovery here until the town handles our fiscal mess. Every year we raise taxes will be another blow to the failing housing market.

The town has a grand list of $4 Billion but home values have dropped severely since the last evaluation, so the actual value is much lower. That means our effective mill rate is not 37, but much higher. It is not realistic to expect this base to support our current $192 Million budget, let alone the increases that would be needed to continue down the path of extravagant spending.

It is time for the town to reduce spending and hold the line on the budget; ZERO tax increases this year and every year until the budget is under control. No increase for the Board of Education. No increase to the health plan. Frozen budgets for every town department including Police and Fire. Hardball health careand pension negotiations with every union until costs are manageable.

If this sounds like austerity you’re right. It is, and it is absolutely necessary.The town needs to practice fiscal responsibility until our housing recovers. There is no rational alternative.