2022 Grand List, revaluation complete
The Middletown Assessor has completed the 2022 Grand List.  The Grand List is the aggregate valuation of taxable property within a given town, and is used to determine the mill rate for both City and Fire District property taxes.  Compared to the 2021 Grand List, the 2022 List increased in gross value by 1.041 billion dollars, or 25.3%.  A year ago the Grand List increased by 114.2 million dollars, or 3.2 percent.

Growth was primarily due to the State-mandated, City-wide reassessment of real property. Year-to-year, the total net value of taxable real estate increased by 32.2% or $906,885,911.  All prior real estate assessments were previously based upon the 2017 revaluation.   This represents 100% of all growth in the 2022 Grand List. There was a -19% or -$90M reduction in the total net taxable assessment of personal property, and a 9.4% or $37M increase in the total net taxable assessment of motor vehicles for a net difference of -52.7M.

Following the dramatic 25% increase in the retail value of motor vehicles last year, 2022 motor vehicle values remain strong. The average motor vehicle assessment on the 2021GL was $11,299 and is now $11,880 on the 2022GL.   This represents a 5% increase.

Middletown Assessor Damon Braasch was not surprised at the increase. “We have all known the real estate market has been very active over the last few years, and a lot of property values are just now coming back from the crash in 2012 when the subprime mortgage market collapsed. Back then, the revaluation resulted in residential assessments dropping by over 15% on average.” Braasch added, “The market is much different now.”

Addressing fears of large tax increases Braasch said “The assessment is half of the calculation for a tax bill.  The other half is the mill rate, which won’t be set by the Common Council until around the end of May.” The City is currently in the process of preparing budget estimates for the next fiscal year, and State funding is largely an unknown. By all estimates the mill rate is expected to drop, but to what level is unknown without a budget.

Mayor Ben Florsheim stated that his budget proposal will be influenced by the dramatic growth in the Grand List. “For three years running now, we have either cut property taxes or kept them level. This year, due to revaluation, the tax rate will be cut again thanks to the general increase in real property values across the city. Cost of living remains my biggest focus, and while I understand residents may be concerned about an increase in their property values meaning a higher tax bill, I am intent on working with the Common Council and Board of Education on a responsible budget that continues our positive progress towards making Middletown a more vibrant, affordable city.”

After deducting for exemptions, the City Fire District had a net increase of $403.8 million, or 28.4 percent; South Fire District had a net increase of $266.3 million or 22.9 percent; Westfield Fire District had a net increase of $253.4 million or 22.5 percent.

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