Homeowners challenge town’s $814,300 appraisal at assessment hearing

Laura Reus and Thomas Ley appeared at a town assessment appeal session on March 2, 2025, to contest a large increase in their property’s appraised market value, telling hearing staff the town’s figure is out of step with nearby comparables and online estimates.

The owners said their 2020 assessed value was about $350,000, the 2025 assessment rose to $570,000, and the town’s appraised market value shown in the file is $814,300. “There is zero explanation for it,” Reus said, arguing the appraisal jump is “astronomical” given they made no recent exterior upgrades.

Reus and Ley cited neighborhood factors they said lower marketability — proximity to Bridgeport, a one‑way cut‑through street, multiple nearby commercial properties including liquor stores and gas stations, and repeated car break‑ins. They also compared their two‑family house to nearby two‑ and three‑family properties, saying those comparables rose by roughly 20–40% while their assessed value rose 81% since the prior assessment period. Reus also noted the town’s appraisal for their home exceeded Zillow’s estimate by about $64,000.

Hearing staff reviewed the submitted field card and the owners’ comparables and said they did not find an obvious data‑entry error (for example, a finished second‑floor listed as finished when it is not). Staff told the owners the full assessor group will convene in the coming weeks to review appeals and that a decision could come by the end of the month, but no outcome was reached at the session.

The owners provided a spreadsheet summarizing prior assessments, unit counts, distances to comparables and Zillow estimates; staff said that material will be considered. The hearing closed without a formal correction or vote.

The appeal remains pending; the assessor group’s review and any adjustment to the appraisal will be announced after that internal review.