Milford Condo Associations Speak Out

The new budget year is one that have Condo Associations flustered. This is because they get less city services for the same amount of taxes that everyone else pays for in town. About now you may be wondering how so? Well the best example is perhaps Lexington Green, a place in which several miles of roads storm drains and hundreds of privately owned homes exist. For those not familiar with this area, it is in the North end of Milford and abuts Three other condo associations these are Lexington Green West, Milford Hunt and Baldwin Station.

The property taxes on these free standing houses are not discounted, and some are crying foul. Starting 2011 the Condo Fees in Lexington Green will be jumping from $90.00 per month to $135.00 per month. This jump marks a 60% increase in condo fees since 2007 when each homeowner paid $85.00. The staggering increase in fees has left very few people happy, especially during these challenging economic times.

The increased costs are due to a need to repave all the roads in the development. The cost of this project was outlined in the 2011 budget for Lexington Green and amounts to more money than can reasonably be procured from the occupants of the development at one time. This is why the repaving project will go on for several months or perhaps a year or so until its complete.

Homeowners in these types of developments have long argued for tax breaks from the city of Milford. This is because unlike true city homes Condo Associations pay "out of pocket" to have all their roads paved,  their trash collected, their snow removed, their storm drains repaired and cleaned, they pay for their our own electric and street lighting, and again maintain and pay high property taxes on unused land that private landscapers maintain.  Milford in exchange enjoys regulatory and P&Z authority. Condo associations are told by the the city how association property can be used and increases taxes on any improvements.

The fundamental unfairness arises due to the tax assessment burden placed on condo properties by the Assessors office. They use the same formula for Condo Associations that they do for a home on a city street. Homes who get all the aforementioned city services for free.

Personally I believe that the assessment process is flawed because of this very paradox. The Assessor is not permitted to take into consideration the fact that homes in many Condo Associations relieve the city of millions of dollars in city services. The flawed assessment process only serves to push down the value of condo association homes of which are viewed by buyers as having higher carrying costs and less value due to the myopic policy of the city of Milford. The ongoing need to for Condo management companies to levy fees above and over those imposed by city taxes is unjust. This is because Condo owners must pay additional fees to cover those services every other resident in town gets for FREE. To add "insult to injury" homes in Condo Associations, when compared to similar "in town" homes, are worth less because of this city tax model.

Moving forward in the coming years, an ordinance should be proposed that abates taxes to Condo Associations for privatizing many city services.These Condo Associations if treated fairly can be encouraged and used in a manner that relieves the city coffers from the excessive costs of maintaining its infrastructure. Adopting a P&Z model that encourages, rather than discourages the formation of Condo Associations may be a good cost cutting idea in the coming years. This will be especially true when Milford maxes out its tax base and loses its ability to engage in collective bargaining with city unions.

Hopefully, this practice of taxation with service limitation will cease and decist as city leaders grow wiser in the coming years. Homeowners in condo associations would rather pay higher property tax based on higher home values than the combined double tax of city and association levys void of many city services.

Seniors Fume Over Crumbling Wall

Some residents at Baldwin Station in Milford are very upset over the retaining wall built behind five homes. After personally visiting the site, and talking with those affected, a very upsetting story emerged.

Residents indicated that the city was given plans to construct the wall according to building code as approved by the building department. During and upon completion of the project the city of Milford sent out inspectors who approved the work of the contractor. A few short years later the earth induced tremors by the passing locomotives, whose tracks rest above the retaining wall, caused several landslides. One such landslide cracked the foundation of a home, while another crushed a drainage pipe creating water and flooding issues.

Jim Amann was supposed to have a meeting with AG Blumenthal and the Baldwin Station Association, now cancelled, to assist the residents receive a resolution to what is now a potentially litigious problem. One such resident said "that until this problem is fixed I will never be able to sell this house ever, believe me I know I have been a realtor for 20 years and can tell you no one will want to deal with this serious of a problem."

The problem still remains unresolved and is a hotly debated issue, because the builder, in the opinion of the residents, is culpable as the wall was built wrong. However, others feel the city is culpable because they approved the builders work. In either case neither the city nor the contractor wish to pay the needed one million dollars to rectify this problem and two million remains in an escrow account.

Complicating matters further the seniors at Baldwin Station already strapped for cash and concerned about the cost of living, are not prepared to shell out any more money on attorneys to get a resolution.

While this is clearly not the fault of the five homeowners who live on the edge of a falling rock zone, they continue to suffer at the hands of a sad bureaucratic system that knows no accountability, has no plan, and continues to evade any responsibility to the safety and well being of the elderly persons who live in fear of falling rocks.

Our city and state leaders need to step up to the plate and assist these homeowners in having this problem fixed before its continued erosion impedes the trains ability to travel over the wall safely. Hopefully action will be taken sooner than later.