Top 25 Delinquent Taxpayers Owe $1.6M to Fairfield [Updated]

Update:

In 2011, Karin Jack filed a lawsuit against the town over their new property assessment, which was determined last year.

The 2010 townwide revalution of properties increased the Sasco Hill Road assessment from $23.2 million to $24.2 million, . The new assessment gave the Jack’s house, which sits on 20 waterfront acres, a $34.6 million market value.

Jack claimed in the lawsuit filed with Bridgeport Superior Court that the new assessment is "grossly excessive, disproportionate, and unlawful." She was denied an assessment appeal by the town’s Board of Assessment Appeals prior to filing the lawsuit.

According to the state’s Department of Justice website, the case was continued; a pretrial conference is scheduled for April 16.

Original Story

Town officials released the top 25 delinquent taxpayers as of Feb. 6 earlier this month at the regular meeting of the Board of Finance. The total amount of back taxes owed to the town by the listed taxpayers is $1,610,134.

The largest amount of back taxes owed on a single property is $271,923 for 1143 Sasco Hill Road, the town’s most expensive residential property, according to the 2011 Grand List. The estate is owned by Bradley and Karin Jack.

The back taxes owed on the property date back to 2010, according to the list provided by the Tax Collector's office.

The current total of delinquent taxes on the town’s books is $7.2 million, Tax Collector Stanley Gorzelany said. The town’s tax collection rate for the last fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2011, was 98.9 percent.

Gorzelany explained that the town can file liens against a property on which back taxes are owed. The town can enforce the payment of property taxes for up to 15 years after the original due date, according to state statute. Those delinquent taxes earn interest at the statutory rate of 18 percent a year, Gorzelany said.

Should the property owners fail to pay their tax bills, the town has three options, Gorzelany said: it can foreclose on a property, assign the liens to a third party for collection, or conduct a tax sale, which Gorzelany said the town is currently considering.

The top 25 delinquent taxpayers of 2011, as of Feb. 6, were:

Rank Name* Property Owed Date - Oldest Unpaid Tax Bill 1 Bradley and Karin Jack 1143 Sasco Hill Road $271,923 2010 2 Jonathan Bailey 418 Harbor Road $141,631 2008 3 Alexius and Nancy Conroy 1078 Sasco Hill Road $125,457 2010 4 Fairfield Redevelopment ( Hannah Property Management, LLC, principal) 460 Kings Highway $41,635 2009     402 Kings Highway $11,798 2008     398 Kings Highway $18,205 2008     414 Kings Highway $5,809 2009     432 Kings Highway $18,918 2008     18 Jennings Road $8,518 2008     26 Jennings Road $12,411 2009     Total:  $117,298   5 Riversong Designs, LLC (Bern Conrad, principal) 591 Hulls Farm Road $90,203 2008 6 Munson Builders (Calvin Munson and James Miller, principal) 909 Kings Highway East $16,972 2009     000 Kings Highway East $10,171 2009     921 Kings Highway East $21,070 2009   Munson Properties, LLC (Calvin Munson, principal) 179 Mailands Road $10,367 2001     109 Mailands Road $6,800 2001   Calvin Munson 1390 South Pine Creek Road $19,506 2008     31 Aberdeen Way $675 2003     Total:  $85,563   7 Lucky 139, LLC (Joseph DeJsus, principal) 80 Old Black Rock Turnpike $24,252 2004     52 Old Black Rock Turnpike $23,756 2004     72 Old Black Rock Turnpike $22,458 2004     Total: $70,466   8 Jeffrey and Tony Zeleni 58 Stirrup Hill Road $57,359 2009 9 3400 PR, LLC (Jo-Ann O'Neill, principal) 3400 Post Road $55,155 2008 10 Post Associates, LLC (Tina Casas and Carl Lacavalla, principals) 3600 Post Road $26,691 2005     3610 Post Road $24,322 2005     Total: $51,014   11 Marilyn Herlin 940 South Pine Creek Road $47,844 2006 12 Reef Road Associates II (FCS Associates, LLC, principal)  345 Reef Road $47,806 2008 13 John and Candace Fraser 138 Evergreen Hill Road $40,466 2008 14 777 Commerce Drive, LLC (Abbey Road Fairfield, LLC, principal)  777 Commerce Drive $39,636 2010 15 Taormina, LLC (Therea Us-Testa, principal)  1023 Brooklawn Avenue $35,723 2008 16 Nicholina and Kerst Lauria 122 Brookside Drive $35,105 2007 17 Xynaptica Corporation (No principal listed)  937 Post Road $34,999 2009 18 187 Kings Highway, LLC (Jeffrey Zeleny, principal) 187 Kings Highway Cutoff $34,875 2009 19 Mill Hill Terrace Associates (Michael Gray, principal) 930 Mill Hill Terrace $34,831 2010 20 Maria Andriolas 1236 Fairfield Beach Road $33,050 2007 21 Michael Cowenhoven, Jr.  150 Orchard Hill Lane $32,466 2007 22 Joanne Brown 210 Primrose Lane $32,018 2006 23 John Prom 1050 Old Academy Road $31,887 2009 24 Russell Kanic-Delet 395 Szost Drive $31,782 2006 25 JD Thirteen Two LLC 1400 Pequot Avenue $31,586 2007     Total $1,610,134     *Names of principals of LLCs listed are supplied by the Connecticut Secretary of the State's Commercial Recording Division