Can you please explain how revaluation will affect my taxes?

Every five years we must look at what the economy has done to real estate prices. In this case, since 2001 when we completed the last revaluation, residential real estate has increased dramatically. On average, residential real estate has increased by 62% since 2001. Commercial real estate has increased by about 12% since 2001. So while it’s increasing, residential real estate has increased at five times the pace of commercial. When this happens, the tax burden shifts away from the commercial tax base and onto the residential tax base.
 
Go to the town web page at www.ci.east-hartford.ct.us and click on the East Harford Tax Calculator and follow the directions. Or if you prefer to figure out your tax rate, follow this formula:
  1. Your new assessed value minus your old assessed value.
  2. Divide that answer by 2.
  3. Now add that answer to the old assessed value.
  4. That will be the 1st year figure your taxes will be figured by.
  5. Divide the 1st year figure by 1000.
  6. The answer to that will be multiplied by the 36.12 mill rate established by the Town Council on May 14th.
  7. The results of all this computation will give you your new taxes on your real property.
 
It is important to remember that your car taxes will decrease by 17.2% from last year's because the mill rate has decreased
 
East Hartford taxes include town services such as snow removal, leaf removal and weekly garbage pick-up, just to name a few. In many surrounding towns residents pay for these services out of pocket.

Why is the tax rate in East Hartford so high? We have a number of large businesses that should help to substantiate our tax base.

Our tax rate or mill rate will decrease with the implantation of Revaluation. This year it will be 36.12 mills per $1000. The second year of the phase in will be lower than that, but will of course be effected by any increases in costs or future budgets.

What have you done over the last two years to work on the future growth and development of East Hartford?

We have seen the opening of over 35 new businesses in town. Cabelas was not a finalized deal when I took office. It took many hours of negotiations and working toward a goal of having them commit to coming here and now the roof is on the building and they are set to open on Oct. 7, 2007. East Hartford Blvd. North will be completed shortly allowing for the opening of the Rentschler Field to traffic. This will expedite the increased business development in this area. I have worked closely with Goodwin College to assist them in making Goodwin on the Connecticut River a reality. We just recently were informed that our hard work paid off and Goodwin will receive $3,000,000 to help with cleaning up the oil tank farms and restore the land to environmentally safe soils. Also, a hotel on Pitkin Street has been through the permit process and will move forward in the near future.

You’ve extended the office hours for Town Hall and the Mayor’s Office. Have you found this to be beneficial and cost effective?

Yes, the extended hours have given the residents an opportunity to come to Town Hall and conduct business after work. We have cut the hours back to 6 p.m. on Thursday evenings because we discovered the departments were not seeing people after that hour so it made sense to adjust our schedule. We cover Thursday evenings with a flex schedule rather than increasing the cost to you, the taxpayer.

During your “Lunch with the Mayor” what types of concerns are being brought up by our neighbors and are they being addressed?

Many different items have come forth and it gives folks an opportunity to have a back and forth dialog about their concerns with me. It also helps to identify priorities that people want addressed. Some topics addressed are quality of life issues: overnight parking, trucks parking where they shouldn’t, bulky waste that needs to be picked up, speeding on a particular street. All of these I can have the staff address. During Revaluation it provided an opening for people to tell me how this was affecting their lives and how they were struggling to keep up with the cost of living in general. Knowing how people struggle is why I worked so hard to keep our budget as low as possible. East Hartford had a 0% increase this year – a feat that most towns can only envy.

Should you be re-elected as Mayor, what will your focus be for your next term?

Keeping up the momentum we have with growing our business base. Continue to look at ways to improve government by trying to make it better and at a lower cost. Exercising fiscal control to assist in controlling taxes. Finding that department store to come to East Hartford so we can choose to shop here is one of my top goals. Further address our quality of life issues; road improvements, maintaining the accessibility to local government especially the Mayor’s Office.

Are there plans to improve the roadways in our town? If so, due to our current budget situation how will this be funded?

In November 2006, we passed a bond referendum for road improvements in the summer of 2007 and 2008. There was $9.5 million dollars approved by voters to improve our roads and we have already begun a part of the process for the summer of 2007. A recent press release said it well: The Town of East Hartford is advising motorists that the 2007 road improvement projects associated with the Town’s 9.5 million dollar Road Improvement Program have been awarded to American Industries, Inc. Construction activities are scheduled to begin in June 2007.
 
The roadwork includes the pavement resurfacing, pavement patching, installation of new curbing, replacement of traffic signal loop detectors, manhole adjustments, utility structure adjustments, sidewalk ramp construction, pavement markings and restoration of disturbed areas. The project is scheduled to be completed in November 2007. The anticipated cost of the projects is $1.4 million dollars. The projects include the following streets:
 
Phase 3 -Pavement Resurfacing: Arbutus Street, Concord Street, Cummings Street, Mary Street, Parkview Drive, Terrace Avenue, Warren Drive, & Whitney Street
 
Localized Improvements: Bissell Street, Chester Street
 
Please note that the resurfacing operations on the above referenced streets might not include the entire length of the roadway.

We have neighborhoods where large bulky items have been put out on the sidewalk/curb and left for a period of time. Is this something that you as Mayor are able to address so we can keep our neighborhoods clean?

Shortly after I was elected I requested a change in the Ordinance dealing with Bulky Waste. -- It states very clearly that:
 
No person who has obtained a permit shall place any bulky waste at curbside more than seven days prior to the scheduled town pick up. If a person places bulky waste at the curbside without requesting the town to pick it up or without obtaining a bulky waste permit, the Director of Public Works may serve a citation on the owner of such property by certified mail or by abode service at the property where the bulky waste was placed at the curbside. Such citation shall indicate that the placement of the bulky waste is in violation of Town Ordinances that the property owner has no more than three days from the date of service of the citation or the town will remove the bulky waste and bill the property owner for the removal. The Town may place a lien on the property for any uncollected costs. The citation may be revoked if the property owner obtains a permit and agrees to comply with the bulky waste provisions of our town ordinances.
 
The way you help is to call my office 291-7200, if you see something on the curb that is sitting there for any length of time.

When driving throughout out our town should we find a “street light” that is out, who should we report this to?

Any reports on street light outages should be made to the Sylvania Light Company. Please contact them directly at 1-800-323-0572 and if possible, please provide them with the pole # and address so that they can address the problem quickly.

Compared to our surrounding communities has there been an increase or decrease in crimes reported to the police?

Crime is on the increase throughout the nation. However, serious crimes, such as murder are decreasing. If you look at the press everyday you will see that East Hartford is not seeing the dramatic increase some of our neighboring towns are experiencing. Our police force is constantly changing to adjust to whatever needs to be done to send a strong message to the criminal element of our society. If you chose to break the law in East Hartford you can expect stern treatment from the police.

How does the East Hartford Police Department compare with Manchester, South Windsor and Glastonbury?

South Windsor and Glastonbury have much smaller police forces than either Manchester or East Hartford. Manchester PD is slightly larger than ours but so is their population. When I took office we had police officers doing administrative jobs at the Public Safety Complex (PSC). That is no longer the case. Public Works took back the maintenance of the PSC and officers took back police work. We actually have more policemen on the streets today than when I was elected. By redeploying the force with an emphasis of constantly examining where the greatest needs are we have better coverage.

In finding a home, people look at the school system the town or city has to offer. What can potential home buyers find with the Town of East Hartford’s school system?

Our school system is one that constantly strives to improve. Our town offers a School Readiness Program run by the School Readiness Council for pre school children. While this is not a Board of Education program, they along with private daycares do participate.
 
We offer a full day kindergarten program in our public schools.
 
Our nine elementary schools (K-5) are located all over town giving us somewhat of a neighborhood school approach.
 
The six grade academy is located at Sunset Ridge School. This provides an excellent opportunity for the children to all become acquainted and for staff to evaluate the best placements for 7th and 8th grades.
 
We also have the East Hartford Glastonbury Magnet School which is attended by a lottery selection of students wishing to go there.
 
Our East Hartford Middle School is recognized nationally as one of the best in the country. The Middle School is divided into teams so that children have the continuity of the same group of teachers for the two years before high school. Two Rivers Magnet School also offers education to 7th and 8th graders.
 
East Hartford High School is one of three programs offered to 9th through 12th graders. We also have two alternative High schools along with our East Hartford High School
 
We have Synergy High school that provides a smaller setting with smaller class size for children that need an alternative approach. In addition to that is the “Life” Program which is more independent study and less classroom time but provides the student with the ability to graduate with a diploma..
 
East Hartford is home to the International Baccalaureate High School which is a magnet high school and as with all public magnets – attendance is by a lottery system.

If I’m interested in getting involved within the East Hartford community, who can I call to volunteer my services?

You call the Mayor’s Office at 291-7200. We will send you some information about boards and commissions or organizations in town that you might be interested in.