Top 25 Delinquent Taxpayers Owe Nearly $1m

[Editor's note, March 27, 2013: This article has been updated to remove names of residents who have proven their taxes were paid after the publicaiton of this story.]

Town officials last week released the top 25 delinquent taxpayers as of Jan. 31 and the total amount of back taxes owed is $921,971.

The largest amount of back taxes owed on a single property is $157,013 for an estate at 1131 Sasco Hill Road. The estate, most recently assessed at $16.3 million, sits on 11.1 acres and has a gross area of nearly 30,000 square feet. It was purchased by a limited liability company for $13.5 million in 2001 and its appraised value today is $23.3 million, according to town tax records.

The tax bill on the property in the next fiscal year, assuming the current assessment and First Selectman Ken Flatto's proposed tax rate in 2011-12 don't change, would be $364,609. The back taxes owed on the property date to the 2009 grand list.

A Jan. 18 report from Town Budget Director Linda Gardiner said overall tax revenue to the town at the close of the second quarter on Dec. 31 was running $5 million under budget ($124 million actual vs. $129 million budgeted), though she noted that a deposit of $3.4 million was booked Jan. 3, in the third quarter, and wasn't reflected in the report.

Collected tax revenue, at the close of the first quarter on Sept. 30, was 30.1 percent of overall tax revenue to be collected this fiscal year, which matched the percentage of collected tax revenue for the previous fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2009.

Town Fiscal Officer Paul Hiller said Tuesday that town officials would have a better idea of where the tax collection rate stands for this fiscal year when the third quarter closes on March 30.

Fairfield usually assumes a tax collection rate between 98 percent and 99 percent when officials compile a proposed town budget for the next fiscal year, and tax revenue usually meets the target. "It's historically been, for the last several years, 99 percent, plus or minus a tenth of a percent from there," Hiller said.

The town predicted a tax collection rate of 98.86 percent this fiscal year, and Flatto's recommended 2011-12 town budget predicts a tax collection rate of 98.92 percent, though Hiller said that figure will change as Flatto's recommended budget is reviewed by town boards.

The top 25 delinquent taxpayers, as of Jan. 31, were:

* 1131 Sasco Hill Road LLC (which lists Gary Andrew Webber of Treasure Road in Fairfield as a principal), 1131 Sasco Hill Road, $157,013;

* Alexius C. and Nancy Conroy, 1078 Sasco Hill Road, $73,801;

* Jonathan James Bailey, 418 Harbor Road, $63,978;

* Riversong Designs, LLC (which lists Bern Conrad of Burr Street in Fairfield as a principal), 591 Hulls Farm Road, $53,240;

* Nancy S. Tauck, 15 Gilbert Highway, $51,959;

* Marilyn M. Herlin, 940 South Pine Creek Road, $37,871;

* Joel E. and Joan L. Smilow, 1097 Pequot Ave., $35,482;

* Richard and Donna Russo, 1555 Fairfield Beach Road, $26,789;

* John M. and Candace Fraser, 138 Evergreen Hill Road, $25,786;

* Nicholina and Kerst Lauria, 122 Brookside Drive, $25,077;

* 3400 PR, LLC (which lists Jo-Ann O'Neill of Hidden Pond Lane in Trumbull as a principal), 3400 Post Road, $24,962;

* Russell G. Delet-Kanic, 395 Szost Drive, $24,923;

* Patricia L. Kirik, 50 Avalon Court, $24,673;

* Claire Nicotra, 136 Pine Creek Ave., $24,648;

* Fairfield Commons, LLC (which lists David D'Addario of Glover's Lane in Easton as a principal), 1152 Kings Highway Cutoff, $24,516;

* Estate of William Smith and Robert G. Smith, 3577 Black Rock Turnpike, $24,473;

* John and Nancy Torok, 134 Overlook Ave., $22,362;

* Heidi Beri, 26 Edward St., $23,986;

* Bridget Nelson, 125 Sunnyridge Ave., $23,919;

* Maria Andriolas, 1236 Fairfield Beach Road, $23,786;

* Jeffrey and Toni Zeleny, 58 Stirrup Hill Road, $23,744;

* Joanne Brown, 210 Primrose Lane, $23,714;

* Michael V. Cowenhoven Jr., 150 Orchard Hill Lane, $23,713;

* Reef Road Associates II, LLC (which lists another LLC as a principal and Eric Cook of Davis Hill Road in Weston as a principal of that LLC), 345 Reef Road, $23,476.