Politics & Government

Hovey Basement Fight may be Over

State legislator, who represents a part of Newtown, allows an inspection of her Fan Hill Road ranch in Monroe

An assessor's inspection of State Rep. DebraLee Hovey (R-112) and her husband Paul Balsano's Fan Hill Road ranch in Monroe determined the couple has a partially finished recreation room and a half-bath, rather than a finished basement and a full one.

The field card for the legislator's home was updated with a lower total value of $307,000, down from $309,000 but higher than what it was in November.

It seems that the assessor's visit, done on Monday, will put to rest a political controversy that has simmered since two neighbors filed a complaint alleging that the basement was finished without a new assessment, and therefore higher taxes for the upgrades.

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The complaints were made during the final week of Hovey's election between challenger, Town Councilwoman Michele Mount -- a race, which included a slice of Newtown, that the incumbent won handily.

"If the town assessor went in and if that’s what the assessor found, then I’m satisfied with that completely," Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Patricia Ulatowski said Thursday evening.

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However, Ulatowski said the assessment is still about $8,000 more than it was during the election, and said she wants to know if the assessor will go back and charge her retroactively as she would any other resident.

Assessor Elizabeth Duffy declined to comment.

Ulatowski had recently sent letters to both Duffy and Chief Building Official James Sandor demanding to know if there would be back taxes for an assessment that went up on Feb. 15 based on neighbors' complaints, and whether there would be a penalty for not having a certificate of occupancy for improvements alleged to have been made.

"Anything done in that room was purely cosmetic," Hovey said of her basement Thursday morning. "The fact is clear and it’s a done issue."

Notes from the site visit recorded in the Assessor's Office at Monroe Town Hall said the basement had a partially finished recreation room with a painted concrete floor, a rough plywood ceiling and sheetrock partitioned walls.

An assessment for a finished basement area was reduced by 416-square feet after the site visit.

Prior to Monday's visit, Hovey had stood by her right not to allow a town inspector into her home, fueling the controversy as some town Democrats demanded to know why, if she nothing to hide, she would not allow a site visit.

"I was not going to respond to this in a political manner," Hovey said Thursday. "It was pure politics. I, as a state representative, always try to do what's right. I don’t get it right all the time, but not for lack of trying."

Hovey added, that she believes it's "anti-American to have the government acting upon complaints and allegations from disgruntled neighbors."

She said she is surprised she and her husband's 1,700-square-foot ranch has caused so much of a stir.

"It’s a sad day in Monroe, when we have the kinds of issues we have at this stage, that people are focusing on things like this and not the big problems," Hovey said. "My focus is on getting a budget passed on the state level that doesn't tax the heck out of my constituents, and sends as much money as possible back to the municipalities for our roads and schools."


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