Portland Grand List Creeps Up Slightly

Portland's grand list inched up by less than 1 percent in 2010, fueled largely by an increase in motor vehicle assessments.

The grand list, an annual inventory of the value of all taxable properties in town, rose from $851.3 million in 2009 to $856.5 million in 2010, an increase of .61 percent.

While not a sizeable jump, Nicole D. Lintereur, the town’s assessor, said she was pleased by the grand list results.

“It’s an increase so that’s good,” Lintereur said. “Considering the economy, any increase is good.”

Grand list valuations are important to local communities when they are developing their budgets because they give an indication of how much local taxes will generate in revenue for the coming fiscal year.

Real estate assessments increased just .34 percent last year, from $757.5 million in 2009 to $760 million in 2010. Motor vehicle assessments jumped by 4.5 percent in 2010, rising from $63.7 million in 2009 to $66.6 million last year.

Personal property valuations, however, decreased .79 percent last year, falling from $30.1 million in 2009 to $29.86 million in 2010.

Lintereur said part of the decline in personal property was the result of the closure last year of the Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. plant. Personal property valuations also dropped last year, she said, because of normal depreciations in machines and equipment.

According to the new grand list figures, the town’s top 10 taxpayers in 2010 were as follows:

1. Connecticut Light & Power: $10.7 million
2. St. Clements Foundation Inc.: $4.5 million
3. Perry Portland Associates LLC: $4.2 million
4. Buckeye Cattle Company LLC: $3.9 million
5. Stone Container Corporation: $2.9 million
6. Jarvis Airfoil Inc: $2.7 million
7. Fairways Fivesome LLC: $2.2 million
8. Portland Care and Rehabilitation: $2.1 million
9. Woodgreen Portland Limited Partnership: $2.1 million
10. Chatham Ridge Associates LLC: $2 million