TOWN MANAGER'S MESSAGE:
As we begin February, we are experiencing cold temperatures, snow, and icy roads. I caution everyone to be careful when driving on our roadways. Car accidents are up! Keep a safe distance from the car ahead of you and drive the speed limit. Though you should always do this, it is more important to do this now. State and Town Public Works crews have been busy preparing roads and keeping our streets cleared from snow and ice over the last few weeks. However, with the continued sunshine and then nightly low freezing temperatures ice can form on the roads that may not easily be visible.
I know Revaluation is still a hot topic is Coventry this month and some residents still are confused. State law requires towns and cities to update the value of properties every 5 years. Coventry last updated our values in 2019, so that brought us to having to do it again for 2024. The Town hired Vision Solutions, a firm used by the majority of municipalities in Connecticut to conduct the study and to perform the sample inspections. Mailers were sent out to residents in March 2024 to verify property information. We were pleased to have over 80% returned verifying property conditions. The results have shown property values increased by category for residential properties at 58%, condo residential commercial properties at 55%, commercial properties at 13%, and undeveloped land 23%. The overall average town wide is 53%. This large increase in value is surprising to some, but it shouldn’t be, because of the sky-rocketing jump in the cost of buying a home the last few years. For those of you that haven’t moved in long time it may not be as obvious, but here is a housing shortage. Today people are bidding $65,000 over an extra high asking price when a house is for sale, and they are still not getting the contract, because they have been out-bid. It took me 10 months to buy a home in Coventry. It is this post-covid market that has created the increased value in our homes. Many people are wanting to leave the cities, and they are willing to pay to live in nice suburban and rural communities like Coventry. For most Americans, their home is their largest investment. So, if you think about it, this increase in value is good for the homeowner. Sadly, I have heard that some people think this increase in value means we are all paying 58% more in property taxes, which is not so. An increase of 58% in property value does not equal a 58% increase in taxes. Town Council will absolutely be setting a lower tax rate this spring after the adoption of the Budget. The tax rate set will be lower and will be used to calculate the taxes with the new higher values. Some Tax bills will be lower, and some will be higher depending where your assessment came in compared to the average assessment. The tax rate set (the actual number) will only need to be at a level needed to bring in the funding necessary to operate the Town and the Coventry Public Schools. We will know that number later in spring. This is the same procedure that Town Council followed 5 years ago and what towns and cities across the State, that are going through revaluation, are following.
Also in February your Town management team is working through our budget expenses to see where we can save money and to see how we can keep up our current levels of service that everyone has come to expect. We are looking through budget requests and reviewing our capital equipment needs. Our Town has been very frugal in years past and I can say I have been impressed with how many years of service the Town has had from some pieces of equipment and vehicles. We have Fire/EMS vehicles and Public Works vehicles that are at near 25 years old. It is time for some to be replaced. One item needing replaced is our Quint Fire ladder truck. It serves as a regular fire engine and additionally it has a ladder spray mechanism that allows it to go to higher elevations. Though we do not have tall buildings, it does allow us to fight fires over large structures or complexes such as Coventry High School, a plaza or high-density commercial areas like Coventry Village. Another item needing replacement is our 18-year-old street sweeper. Though still running, it has seen better days and frequently breaks down. The sweeper removes pollutants from the roads from reaching storm drains and ultimately the lake and river. We are also looking at replacing older infrastructure in our schools. There are many worn items, but we are looking at some security issues this year. We are realizing that the well-made 43-year-old fire alarm systems in our elementary schools are getting harder to fix and the used parts are getting almost impossible to find on eBay. I commend the BOE staff for keeping them going. Though that equipment is closer to 30 years old, we have found similar issues with the intercom systems in all our schools. In a day where school security is so important, communication has elevated the need to address this concern by updating our equipment. Additionally, we need to replace tractor/mowers to keep our parks and roadways mowed and dump trucks/plows as they reach the end of life. As I said earlier, we need to keep our roads clear and safe in February, and to do so we will need reliable equipment to do this. These are just a few of the capital items in the Capital Improvement Plan. Some of the equipment needs have been in the CIP for several years, but sometimes to lower our budget expenses and to lower the taxes, scheduled equipment purchases get cut and they get pushed out to future years. Town staff will continue to prioritize capital equipment and projects and prepare a balanced operating budget for presentation to Town Council by the end of the month. There will be public hearing on the proposed Town and Board of Education budgets on Tuesday March 4th at 7:00 PM at Coventry High School.
I am sure as we continue winter 2025 there will be more to say about the budget. This cold February, I encourage everyone to get a good book at Booth and Dimock Memorial Library and relax at home by the fire, the woodstove, or with a warm blanket. I will likely be inside too but working on the computer on budget. Should you wish to contact me, please email JDrumm@coventry-ct.gov or call the office at 860-742-6324. Frequent updates are also posted to the Town Manager’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CoventryCTTownManager.
Sincerely,
James Drumm
