Could Windsor Locks Taxpayers Get Refunds After Budget Cuts?

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Windsor Locks taxpayers will not see a budget-related adjustment to the tax bills that went out while the town was still trying to pass a spending plan.

The town's $64,086,850 operating budget finally passed Tuesday by a single vote after a recount. The approved mill rate is 22.25, matching the rate the Board of Selectmen used in July so the town could send out tax bills despite the repeated budget defeats.

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That means the bills do not need to be recalculated now that the budget is settled. But before the final referendum, town officials raised a broader question: What would happen if further budget cuts pushed the eventual mill rate below 22.25?

According to newly appointed Town Attorney Matthew Ritter, state law does not provide for refunding the difference to taxpayers.

Ritter addressed the issue during the Aug. 18 Board of Selectmen meeting. He said any excess revenue collected under the original rate should instead be kept separate from the general fund and used during the 2027-28 budget process.

The money could be used to cover a deficit or pay expenses that would otherwise put upward pressure on next year's mill rate, Ritter said.

Ritter based his opinion on Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-123, which allows selectmen to levy taxes when a town has not approved enough revenue to cover its current expenses.

Without that provision, Ritter said, the town would have to issue tax anticipation notes to keep paying its bills until a budget passed. He described that borrowing as expensive and rarely used by municipalities.

One resident at the meeting said he knew of cases in which excess money had been refunded. Ritter replied that the statute gives selectmen the authority to levy the taxes and does not contain a provision requiring refunds.

The question surfaced after the third budget proposal failed June 30. The next proposal carried an estimated mill rate of 22.21, but selectmen set the rate at 22.25 so tax bills could go out. Later proposals changed the spending total several more times while keeping the rate used for billing.

A mill represents $1 in tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value. At 22.25 mills, a property assessed at $200,000 carries an annual tax bill of $4,450 before any exemptions.

The seventh proposal passed 705-704. Its approved budget documents list the same 22.25-mill rate used on the tax bills, so the refund question did not ultimately come into play.

Selectmen unanimously appointed Shipman & Goodwin LLP as the town's new law firm during the same Aug. 18 meeting, with Ritter serving as Windsor Locks' lead attorney. Former Town Attorney Carl Landolina will finish work on a pending lawsuit before concluding his service to the town.

Ritter is chairman of Shipman & Goodwin's public finance practice and also serves as speaker of the Connecticut House.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.