Middlebury’s news - without the noise
Good Morning Middlebury! We start off today talking about everyone’s favorite subject…taxes. After that, read on to learn more about Region 15 school budget updates and also the question nobody seems to be asking…what happened to Kelly Road after last Tuesday’s deadline? We dug, found nothing, and discuss it below. Unfortunately, this is one that didn’t have the visibility it deserved, and we bet most residents don’t even know what’s transpiring.
Today
Like it or not, your property was just reevaluated…what that means for your taxes
Region 15 Budget and Middlebury’s impact
Kelly Road’s fate is still unknown, and why is nobody talking about it?
Middlebury's Revaluation Is Done, and Your Tax Bill This July Will Reflect It
Get ready…residential property values rose 35–40% in the town's new assessment, and the mill rate that determines what you actually pay gets set this spring.
Middlebury has completed its property revaluation for the October 1, 2025 Grand List, and if you haven't been paying close attention now is the time to start. The new assessed values will be used to calculate every tax bill mailed this July and they'll stay in place for the next 5 years.
The headline number from Assessor Chris Kelsey says residential property values in Middlebury are up roughly 35–40% since the last revaluation, driven by the COVID-era housing runup. Commercial values rose more modestly at about 10–15%. That gap matters. When residential properties make up a bigger slice of the overall Grand List than commercial ones, homeowners absorb more of the total tax burden. Kelsey flagged this dynamic last fall and noted that the mill rate will drop to partially offset the higher assessments but it is expected that most homeowners will still see their actual tax bills rise.
What you can do right now: look up your new assessed value on the GIS site (Google “Middlebury CT GIS” — we don’t want to link here out of fraud concerns). The formal Board of Assessment Appeals deadline passed February 20th so the window for challenging your assessment is closed for this cycle. What you can watch going forward is the Board of Finance's mill rate decision which gets set once the 2026-27 budget is finalized this spring.
The current mill rate is 32.52 mills, meaning ever $1,000 of assessed value is taxed at $32.52. With assessments up significantly the mill rate may fall, but by how much depends on the final town and school budgets being worked on right now.
Region 15 Budget Proposal Asks More From Middlebury
The district's proposed 2026/2027 budget has Middlebury's share rising less than 2%, while the state funding picture at the Capitol remains unsettled.
The Region 15 Board of Education presented its proposed 2026/2027 budget to the board in late February. Here is your headline number…the town's share of the district budget is proposed at $31,720,500. This is a $529,070 increase or just under 2% over the current year. Southbury by comparison is looking at over a 7% jump in its share driving the overall district-wide increase to about 5%.
The next major step in the process is a budget workshop this Wednesday, March 18th at 6:30 p.m. at the Pomperaug High School Media Center. This is when the BOE typically fields detailed questions on line items so anyone who wants to see how this all comes together should consider attending or watching the video.
The broader backdrop here matters. At the state level, the debate over Connecticut's Education Cost Sharing formula is heating up. Gov. Lamont's proposed state budget does not increase the ECS formula baseline (which has stayed flat since 2013) meaning any cost increases above what state aid covers fall back on local property taxpayers. That's a slow moving pressure that accumulates year over year in towns like ours, and it's part of why school budget season tends to feel thicker each spring. Whether the General Assembly adjusts the formula this session is still an open question.
What Happened at Kelly Road?
The contract deadline passed five days ago and there has been no public word on whether Save Historic Middlebury secured an extension or the deal fell through.
Let us preface by saying that a primary focus of this newsletter is to remain unopinionated. However, this here is a story that simply did not get enough attention, coverage, or quite frankly the press that it deserved.
Last week's March 10th deadline came and went. Under the terms of Save Historic Middlebury's purchase agreement, that was the date the landowner gained the legal right to terminate the contract and move forward with a 14 unit residential subdivision on the 35 acres right next to Memorial Middle School.
As of the writing of this, no announcement has been made from Save Historic Middlebury, the town, or any local press outlet about what happened. No extension confirmed. No termination confirmed. Either possibility is still in play.
SHM President Nick Stuller was candid that the odds were long but held out hope that pledges close to the 10th could buy more time. He also noted that until actual construction begins some version of a path forward could still exist.
For the 35 acres and the question of whether Middlebury gets open recreational space or 14 new homes just 25 feet from Memorial Middle School, this is the story that still needs a definitive answer.
And, quite frankly, this is the story that should be talked about on the town Facebook pages. We still are in awe that nobody, including prominent and active community members, chose to discuss this.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, March 18 — Region 15 BOE Budget Workshop, 6:30 p.m., PHS Media Center.
Monday, March 23 — Middlebury Economic Development Commission meeting.
April (TBD) — Town of Middlebury Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Watch the Middlebury Town website for details.
Spring is right around the corner. Hang in there, enjoy whats left of the weekend, and we’ll see you Tuesday.
Have a great day,
-Middlebury Morning
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