Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 9, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Up Front Cromwell in center of fight over nonprofits' tax-exempt status By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com A lyssa Goduti, president and CEO of Cromwell-based Adel- brook Behavioral and Devel- opmental Services Inc., was surprised when the town sent her nonprofit a property tax bill about two years ago. Before that, Cromwell hadn't charged Adelbrook, which provides services for children and young adults with developmental and be- havioral issues, taxes on any prop- erties it owns in town since it was founded there 120 years ago. But in 2018, that changed. Adelbrook says it was informed by the town that taxes would be assessed on one of the properties it owns on Hicksville Road, where it provides a "therapeutic group home," according to court records. The town hadn't assessed taxes on that property, which Cromwell's assessor values at about $232,000, any previous year since Adelbrook bought it in 2013. The total annual property tax bill for Adelbrook, which reported about $29 million in revenue in 2018, was $5,336.20, according to the nonprof- it's assistant CFO Ryan Jason. "I think it's a concerning, slippery slope of potentially getting as- sessed on this property, and possibly leading us to be assessed on other properties," said Goduti. After a failed appeal, Adelbrook sued the town over the tax bill, asserting its nonprofit status has always and continues to exempt it from property taxes. And it's not the only nonprofit currently in litigation with Cromwell over similar issues. Middletown-based MARC Com- munity Resources Inc., which also provides services for those with intellectual and developmental dis- abilities, filed suit against Cromwell in 2018 over a property tax bill, and Middletown's Gilead Community Services won a Connecticut Superior Court judgement against Cromwell for a similar complaint last year. The town appealed the decision. Cromwell Town Manager Anthony Salvatore said he couldn't comment on pending litigation, but his mu- nicipality isn't alone in challenging nonprofits' tax-exempt status. A 2018 survey conducted by the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance found that 41 Connecticut towns had denied tax exemptions. For example, Adelbrook has also sued the cities of Middletown and Bristol over similar issues. The Middletown case was withdrawn, and the Bristol case is still in litiga- tion, court records show. "There have been an increasing number of towns that have been incorrectly assessing property taxes on community nonprofits that are by law property tax exempt," said Gian- Carl Casa, president and CEO of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance, which represents hundreds of nonprofits statewide. "It's a cynical play, and it's one that violates some- thing that for hundreds of years has been the case in Connecticut." The issue has heated up in recent years as both municipalities and Continued on page 4 >> TOWN PROFILE: CROMWELL 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING | SHEET METAL | BUILDING AUTOMATION | FACILITIES SERVICES License #'s: E1-0125666 S1-302974 P1-203519 F1-10498 SM1-192 MC-1134 SUSTAINABLE FACILITIES COMPETITIVE. EFFICIENT. PRODUCTIVE. The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to provide sustainable, more efficient, greener facilities. Experts in: Energy Systems & Incentives, Building Automation Technologies, Sustainable Design & Operation NEMSI HBJ_QtrPg Ads_200117.indd 1 1/17/20 1:31 PM Cromwell nonprofit Adelbrook Behavioral and Development Services Inc. (whose main Hicksville Road campus is shown above) is in litigation with the town of Cromwell over property taxes it's been assessed. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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