600 Middletown Homeowners Sent Erroneous Revaluation Letters

A computer error resulted in 600 city property owners being mailed incorrect revaluation letters, according to Middletown Tax Assessor Damon Braasch.

Vision Government Solutions mailed 600 letters to homeowners incorrectly saying that when their property had been visited by data collectors, no one was home. The letter also erroneously asks residents to schedule an appointment for Vision to view the interior.

Everyone who received a letter dated March 15 has already had their property inspected, Braasch says.

“It is an unfortunate mistake, and Vision only became aware of it when property owners received the letter and started calling,” Braasch said. The letter was intended to thank the owners for their assistance in the revaluation, and give them the opportunity to verify the data that was listed.

Property owners only need to respond if there are any corrections to the record that need to be made.

By law, revaluations must include inspections to every property within a 10-year
cycle. However due to several changes in the law regarding the revaluation cycle
over the last eight years, it has been more than 14 years since inspections have been a part of a Middletown revaluation.

“At first it was a four-year cycle with inspections completed by the 12th year, then it changed to a five-year cycle with inspections completed by the 10th year. For Middletown, the last revaluation that included inspections was in 1998,” according to Braasch.

A revaluation is required to reflect changes in the market since the last time property was appraised. Most of the time that means assessments increase, but this time it could mean lowering assessments.

“We will know the impact by November,” said Braasch. “That is when the change in assessment notices are scheduled to be mailed

This is only the first set of letters mailed and Vision still has a large portion of the city that has yet to be reviewed.

All data collectors will carry an official photo identification badge and will be registered with the assessor’s office and police department. The town urges its residents NOT to allow anyone to enter their home unless proper ID is presented.

To verify a data collector is working in your neighborhood, call the police
department at (860) 344-3200 or  347-6941. Questions about the revaluation
may be directed to the Tax Assessor's Office at 344-3454. Vision Government
Solutions can be contacted at (888) 844-4300.