| 18 | | - | (a) When any community, authorized to raise money by taxation, lays a tax, it shall appoint a collector thereof; and the selectmen of towns, and the committees of other communities, except as otherwise specially provided by law, shall make out and sign rate bills containing the proportion which each individual is to pay according to the assessment list; and any judge of the Superior Court or any justice of the peace, on their application or that of their successors in office, shall issue a warrant for the collection of any sums due on such rate bills. Each collector shall mail or hand to each individual from whom taxes are due a bill for the amount of taxes for which such individual is liable. In addition, the collector shall include with such bill, using one of the following methods (1) attachment, (2) enclosure, or (3) printed matter upon the face of the bill, a statement of: [state] |
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| 30 | + | Any municipality [which has more than one taxing district] may by a majority vote of its legislative body set [a uniform city-wide] separate mill [rate] rates for taxation of real property, motor vehicles [, except that if] and personal property other than motor vehicles, which mill rates may vary by taxing district or by property type, provided no property tax mill rate shall be more than five mills higher or lower than any other such mill rate in the municipality. If the charter of such municipality provides that any mill rate for property tax purposes shall be set by the board of finance of such municipality, [such uniform city-wide] any mill rate authorized pursuant to this section may be set by a majority vote of such board of finance. |
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| 20 | | - | (A) State aid to municipalities, which shall be in the following form: |
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| 21 | | - | |
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| 22 | | - | [The] "The (fiscal year) budget for the (city or town) estimates that .... Dollars will be received from the state of Connecticut for various state financed programs. Without this assistance your (fiscal year) property tax would be (herein insert the amount computed in accordance with subsection (b) of this section) [mills] mills", and |
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| 23 | | - | |
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| 24 | | - | (B) The percentage and dollar amount of the total amount of taxes due under the bill attributable to the adopted (i) general government budgeted expenditures, and (ii) board of education budgeted expenditures. The sums of the percentages attributable to the general government and board of education budgeted expenditures shall equal one hundred per cent and such sums collectively shall equal the total dollar amount of taxes due under the bill. Such statement shall be in the following form: |
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| 25 | | - | |
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| 26 | | - | ".... per cent and …. dollars of the total amount of taxes due under this bill is attributable to general government budgeted expenditures and …. per cent and …. dollars of such total amount is attributable to board of education budgeted expenditures.". |
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| 27 | | - | |
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| 28 | | - | Failure to send out or receive any such bill or statement shall not invalidate the tax. For purposes of this subsection, "mail" includes to send by electronic mail, provided an individual from whom taxes are due consents in writing to receive a bill and statement electronically. Prior to sending any such bill or statement by electronic mail, a community shall provide the public with the appropriate electronic mail address of the community on the community's Internet web site and shall establish procedures to ensure that any individual who consents to receive a bill or statement electronically [(1)] (I) receives such bill or statement, and [(2)] (II) is provided the proper return electronic mail address of the community sending the bill or statement. |
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| 29 | | - | |
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| 30 | | - | (b) The mill rate to be inserted in the statement of state aid to municipalities required by subsection (a) of this section shall be computed on the total estimated revenues required to fund the estimated expenditures of the municipality exclusive of assistance received or anticipated from the state. |
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| 31 | | - | |
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| 32 | | - | Sec. 2. Section 7-344 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015): |
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| 33 | | - | |
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| 34 | | - | Not less than two weeks before the annual town meeting, the board shall hold a public hearing, at which itemized estimates of the expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year shall be presented and at which all persons shall be heard in regard to any appropriation which they are desirous that the board should recommend or reject. The board shall, after such public hearing, hold a public meeting at which it shall consider the estimates so presented and any other matters brought to its attention and shall thereupon prepare and cause to be published in a newspaper in such town, if any, otherwise in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in such town, a report in a form prescribed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management containing: (1) An itemized statement of all actual receipts from all sources of such town during its last fiscal year; (2) an itemized statement by classification of all actual expenditures during the same year; (3) an itemized estimate of anticipated revenues during the ensuing fiscal year from each source other than from local property taxes and an estimate of the amount which should be raised by local property taxation for such ensuing fiscal year; (4) an itemized estimate of expenditures of such town for such ensuing fiscal year; [and] (5) the amount of revenue surplus or deficit of the town at the beginning of the fiscal year for which estimates are being prepared; (6) the percentage and dollar amount of the total estimated expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year and the estimated mill rate attributable to the proposed general government budgeted expenditures; and (7) the percentage and dollar amount of the total estimated expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year and the estimated mill rate attributable to the proposed board of education budgeted expenditures provided any town which, according to the most recent federal census, has a population of less than five thousand may, by ordinance, waive such publication requirement, in which case the board shall provide for the printing or mimeographing of copies of such report in a number equal to ten per cent of the population of such town according to such federal census, which copies shall be available for distribution five days before the annual budget meeting of such town. The board shall submit such estimate with its recommendations to the annual town meeting next ensuing, and such meeting shall take action upon such estimate and recommendations, and make such specific appropriations as appear advisable, but no appropriation shall be made exceeding in amount that for the same purpose recommended by the board and no appropriation shall be made for any purpose not recommended by the board. Such estimate and recommendations may include, if submitted to a vote by voting tabulator, questions to indicate whether the budget is too high or too low. The vote on such questions shall be for advisory purposes only, and not binding upon the board. Immediately after the board of assessment appeals has finished its duties and the grand list has been completed, the board of finance shall meet and, with due provision for estimated uncollectible taxes, abatements and corrections, shall lay such tax on such list as shall be sufficient, in addition to the other estimated yearly income of such town and in addition to such revenue surplus, if any, as may be appropriated, not only to pay the expenses of the town for such current year, but also to absorb the revenue deficit of such town, if any, at the beginning of such current year. The board shall prescribe the method by which and the place where all records and books of accounts of the town, or of any department or subdivision thereof, shall be kept. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as preventing a town from making further appropriations upon the recommendation of its board of finance at a special town meeting held after the annual town meeting and prior to the laying of the tax for the current year, and any appropriations made at such special town meeting shall be included in the amount to be raised by the tax laid by the board of finance under the provisions of this section. |
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| 35 | | - | |
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| 36 | | - | Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015) Notwithstanding any municipal charter, home rule ordinance or special act, a town that has not established a board of finance pursuant to section 7-340 of the general statutes shall, not less than two weeks before adopting a budget, prepare and cause to be published in a newspaper in such town, if any, otherwise in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in such town, a report in a form prescribed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, containing the percentage and dollar amount of the total estimated expenditures of the town for the ensuing fiscal year and the estimated mill rate attributable to the proposed (1) general government budgeted expenditures, and (2) board of education budgeted expenditures, if applicable. |
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| 32 | + | Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes or municipal charter, a local board of education may, if authorized by a majority vote of the legislative body of the municipality where such board of education is located, set a separate mill rate for the board of education budget. |
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| 42 | | - | Section 1 from passage and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2015 12-130 |
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| 43 | | - | Sec. 2 October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015 7-344 |
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| 44 | | - | Sec. 3 October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015 New section |
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| 38 | + | Section 1 October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015 12-122a |
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| 39 | + | Sec. 2 October 1, 2015, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after October 1, 2015 New section |
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