After last year’s property revaluation, Westport homeowners received letter with their new figures.
The 2025 Grand List — the sum of the net assessed value of all taxable property (real estate, motor vehicles, and personal property) — was released too. Driven by the revaluation, residential properties soared 60% from 2024.
Some Westporters — assuming their local taxes would rise by a similar amount — freaked out.
Andy Bangser is a lifelong Westporter and 1972 Staples High School graduate, who moved back in 1989. He is a founder of Foundation Source. More recently he has built AI-powered websites, including The Ledge — a site that decodes Congressional bills into plain English. He offers this help, understanding the revaluation and taxes:
Property revaluation letters landed recently. The natural response is: what happens to my tax bill?
Property revaluation does not mean taxes will rise the same amount.
While I’m not an expert in this area, and do not speak for the town, I can do the math.
The mill rate will drop — but not enough to offset higher values.
Westport’s total property value (the Grand List) jumped 50.6% since Covid. If town spending stayed flat, the mill rate would fall from 18.86 to about 12.52.
But that’s not the end of the story:
- Spending won’t stay flat. Each 1% increase in the town budget adds roughly 0.125 to the mill rate. If the 2026-27 budget rises 4% — a reasonable estimate — the mill rate would be about 13.02.
- Home values rose 61% while commercial values increased only 16%. That means our homes will shoulder a larger share of the cost of town services. I estimate commercial property taxes will go down more than 20%.
Commercial properties like Bridgewater Associates’ Nyala Farm headquarters did not rise nearly as much as residential ones.
How your tax is calculated:
Mill rate × assessed value ÷ 1,000
(Assessed value is 70% of estimated market value.)
Most homeowners will pay more.
If your home’s assessment rose near the town average (about 61%), your tax bill would increase roughly 11%, even with the lower mill rate. That’s 1.61 times 13.02, divided by 18.86.
Location matters.
These are just averages, but according to town assessor Paul Friia, as reported in Westport Journal:
- North of I-95, home values rose about 66% on average.
- South of I-95, values rose 57%.
Your actual increase depends on how much your assessment increased relative to the rest of the town.
Still unknown:
The final town budget is not set. Appeals could also change the Grand List. Those 2 factors will determine where the mill rate ultimately lands — and how much we will pay.
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