[We are still in the process of confirming the information for the South End Fire District, as well as updating the mill rate for 2009 for that district.  Thank you for your understanding of our volunteer efforts; 4:30 p.m., Thursday, July 29]

New Hartford is blessed with many things, including four separate taxing authorities:   the town and three fire districts.  Since July is tax collection time for three out of the four taxing authorities we thought we’d be brave and take the plunge and provide basic information about when the taxes are due, how much is due and who the tax collector is for each of the taxing authorities and how to contact them.

1.  Town of New Hartford:

Linda Sheffield, the New Hartford Tax Collector issued the following Notice to Taxpayers which gives all the necessary information.  Following is the notice taken from the Tax Collector’s Department section of the town’s municipal website:

“Notice To Taxpayers:

Notice is hereby given to all persons liable by law to pay property taxes to the Town of New Hartford, County of Litchfield, State of Connecticut, that a tax of 24.0 mills on the dollar on the Grand List of October 1, 2009, laid by the Board of Finance on May 11, 2010 will become due and payable as follows:

First installments of Real Estate & Personal Property bills that are over $100 are due on July 1, 2010. Second installments are due January 1, 2011. All other bills are due in full on July 1, 2010. If not paid on or before August 2, 2010, the tax or 1st installment becomes delinquent and subject to interest of one and one half per cent per month from July 1st. Any fractional part of a month is considered to be equivalent to a whole month. MINIMUM INTEREST CHARGE IS $2.00. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse the tax or subsequent interest charged.

Checks may be mailed to the Tax Collector, Town of New Hartford, P. O. Box 402, New Hartford, CT 06057-0402. Payments may be made in person at Town Hall, 530 Main St., New Hartford. Office hours are: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 to 4:00, Wednesday, 9:00 to 6:00, Friday, 9:00 to Noon.”

We called the Tax Collector’s Office and and spoke with Debbie Ventre, Linda’s assistant who told us to remind taxpayers that if they are going to pay their taxes on the very last day that they are due without penalty, next Monday, August 2, they should either pay them in person at the Tax Collector’s Office which will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. or if they are going to mail the tax payments they should ask the post office to hand stamp the envelope so that it is dated the 2nd.

What if you get to the Post Office at 5:01 p.m. and find the doors locked?  There’s still the option of paying your taxes online, either by credit card or by an ACH (Automatic Clearing House) electronic funds transfer.  Both of these forms of payments have service charges levied by the service provider (not the town) so be sure you won’t be paying more in service fees than you would by making the late payment.  For more information, check the Tax Collector’s information on the town website or call the Tax Collector’s Office at 860-379-5795.

The Three Fire Districts:

New Hartford has three separate fire districts: the New Hartford Village Fire District (District 1), the Pine Meadow Fire District (District 3), and the South End Fire District (District 4); curiously, there is no District 2 ~ perhaps one of our readers might be able to clarify that lack.  All three districts are manned by volunteers and they each operate independently of each other. They each have the authority to tax residents who live within their districts. Currently, the districts levy Real Estate taxes and Personal Property taxes.

New Hartford Village Fire District ~ District 1:

“LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS NEW HARTFORD VILLAGE FIRE DISTRICT:

Notice is hereby given to all persons liable by law to pay property taxes to the New Hartford Village Fire District, County of Litchfield, State of Connecticut, that a tax of 1.0 mills on the dollar on the Grand List of October 1, 2009 laid by the New Hartford Village Fire District on May 10, 2010, will become due and payable on July 1, 2010. If not paid or postmarked on or before August 2, 2010 the taxes become delinquent and subject to interest charged at the rate of 1 1/2% per month or part of a month (with a minimum interest charge of $2.00 per bill), from July 1, 2010 to the date paid. Any fractional part of a month is considered to be equivalent to a whole month. MINIMUM INTEREST CHARGE IS $2.00 per bill.

Checks should be mailed to Tax Collector, New Hartford Village Fire District, P.O. Box 292, New Hartford, CT 06057. Payments may be made in person at the Station #1 Fire House, 3 Greenwoods Road, New Hartford. Office hours are: Monday & Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. CHECKS THAT INCLUDE “TOWN OF NEW HARTFORD” PAYMENTS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AND WILL BE RETURNED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A LATE FEE. All Motor Vehicle delinquents must be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles as of August 3, 2010. Failure to receive a bill does not invalidate or excuse the tax or subsequent interest charged.

Dated at New Hartford this 7th day of June 2010. Lauraine Paquin, Tax Collector New Hartford Village Fire District.”

For more information regarding the New Hartford Village Fire District taxes, please Lauraine Paquin, the New Hartford Village Tax Collector at 860-738-3407.

For more information about the New Hartford Village Fire District: please visit the New Hartford Village Fire District’s website.

The New Hartford Volunteer Fire Department is located at 3 Greenwoods Road, on the corner of Greenwoods Road and Route 219. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

Pine Meadow Fire District ~ District 3:

The Pine Meadow Fire District is the smallest of the three fire districts.  Our reporter spoke with Marcie Patchett, the Pine Meadow Fire District Tax Collector who confirmed that the fire district has sent out 106 Real Estate tax bills in their district; the total number of tax bills the district sent out is 330 tax bills (Real Estate and Personal Property).  The fire district recently published a legal notice in the newspapers; here is the July 7 Notice which appeared in the Register Citizen:

“LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS PINE MEADOW FIRE DISTRICT:

Notice is hereby given to all persons liable by law to pay property taxes to the Pine Meadow Fire District, County of Litchfield, State of Connecticut, that a tax of 1.5 mills on the dollar on the Grand List of October 1, 2009 laid by the Pine Meadow Fire District on April 26, 2010 will become due and payable on July 1, 2010. Payments not postmarked on or before August 2, 2010 are subject to interest penalty of 1 1/2% per month from the DUE DATE (August payment - 3%) of the bill. Any fractional part of a month is considered to be equivalent to a whole month. Minimum interest is $2.00 per bill. State Statutes mandate that payments be applied to the oldest obligation first. Should you have delinquent taxes, any payment made will be applied not to your current bill, but to the oldest list year first.

Checks should be mailed to: Pine Meadow Fire District, Tax Collector - P.O. Box 93 - Pine Meadow, CT 06061. CHECKS THAT INCLUDE TOWN OF NEW HARTFORD PAYMENTS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AND WILL BE RETURNED POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A LATE FEE. All Motor Vehicle delinquents will be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles as of August 3, 2010. Failure to receive a bill does not invalidate or excuse the tax or subsequent interest charged.

Dated at Pine Meadow, CT this 7th day of July, 2010. Marcie Patchett, Tax Collector Pine Meadow Fire District.”

Marcie confirmed that the Pine Meadow Fire District does not have a Tax Office at which payments may be made in person.  Anyone needing more information or with questions regarding their tax bill(s) may call her at 860-379-5853.

For more information about the Pine Meadow Volunteer Fire Company: please visit the Pine Meadow Volunteer Fire Company’s website.

The Pine Meadow Volunteer Fire Department is located at 366 Main Street on Route 44 just before the light at the green. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

South End Fire District ~ District 4:

Unlike the rest of New Hartford taxpayers, residents who live within the South End Fire District (which includes Nepaug and Bakerville) will not be paying their tax bills fire district tax bills this month because their fire district tax bills are due September 1 and taxpayers will have until October 1 to pay their bills without penalty. When they do pay their fire district taxes, those taxpayers will most likely be paying the lowest mill rate out of the three fire districts. Although we have not been able to confirm this year’s mill rate ~ we have yet to connect with the district’s Tax Collector, Jackie Vincenzo, the mill rates for 2007 for the three districts were:

• New Hartford Village Fire District (District 1):   1.25 mills
• Pine Meadow Fire District (District 3): 1.75 mills
• South End Fire District (District 4): 0.8 mills

This relatively low mill rate, our reporter was told, is due to the cell phone tower which is located just behind the South End Fire House.  The income from that cell phone tower is used to offset the fire district’s expenses, bringing the tax rate down for the residents in that district.

For more information regarding the South End Fire District taxes: please call Jackie Vincenzo, the South End Fire District Tax Collector at 860-482-5758.

For more information about the South End Fire District: please call the Fire House at 860-482-7336; the South End Fire District does  not have a website.

The South End Fire Department is located at 20 Antolini Road, New Hartford. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

[We are in the process of confirming the above information for the South End Fire District; we will also update the mill rate to that for 2009.]