Brookfield First Selectman Bill Tinsley cancelled a special Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. today to consider a tax incentive plan for a Four Corners developer because he does not want to rush the process.
Tinsley called the meeting because he wants any proposal that the selectmen decide to go forward to a town referendum, and this meeting was the last chance to be able to get a referendum question on the Nov. 4 election ballot.
“This is just too important to rush,” Tinsley said Wednesday afternoon. “When you rush, you make mistakes.”
So the discussion of the incentive plan is now to be on the Sept. 8 regular Board of Selectmen agenda. That meeting will be in Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.
As of now, Tinsley is recommending a seven-year tax incentive plan that would give developers of the Brookfield Village mixed-use and condominium development in the Four Corners a complete, three-year tax break based on increasing property tax assessment and four years of reduced taxes. Over the course of 30 years, Tinsley’s proposal would give $1.3 million in tax relief. Their tax bill would change from more than $12 million over a 30-year span to just over $11 million.
Without any incentive, the annual tax bill for both the mixed-use portion of the project, a mix of retail, commercial and 79 moderate-income apartments on Federal Road, and 24 condominiums proposed for a five-acre rear parcel on Station Road, would be an additional $411,000. But Tinsley has emphasized that if the developers opt not to go forward with the project, there would no such tax benefit.
So far, the Board of Finance has balked at the tax proposal and the Economic Development Commission is in favor. By ordinance, the three-member Board of Selectmen has the final say.
Because of the magnitude and importance of this project, and the importance of the ordinance to attract future economic investors, Tinsley said he now wants to put forth whatever the selectmen decide to a town referendum, one specifically oriented to this issue. That would allow for more public input into the process, and the chance to educate residents about whatever plan is proposed and how that will impact taxpayers for the short and long-term.
“I want this to be on a fast train, but not too fast. I still want people able to get on board,” Tinsley said.