Every Connecticut town has to revalue all its real property on a fixed cycle, and the five towns around Candlewood Lake are all at different points in that cycle right now. That is why comparing their mill rates head to head is so misleading, and it is why two identical houses in neighboring towns can carry very different assessments.
Here is the actual schedule, from the state, through 2037.
The schedule
These are the October 1 Grand List years each town revalues on, from the Connecticut revaluation schedule published on the state open data portal and linked from the Office of Policy and Management.
Town | Revaluation year, 2023 to 2027 cycle | Then | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
Sherman | 2023 | 2028 | 2033 |
New Fairfield | 2024 | 2029 | 2034 |
New Milford | 2025 | 2030 | 2035 |
Brookfield | 2026 | 2032 | 2036 |
Danbury | 2027 | 2032 | 2037 |
Note the intervals are not a clean five year march for everyone. Brookfield goes 2026 to 2032, six years. Danbury goes 2027 to 2032, five. Read the published years rather than counting forward from the last one.
Why the year matters more than the rate
Under Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 12-62, a revaluation resets assessed values to current market evidence. Connecticut assesses at 70 percent of market value, and your bill is that assessment multiplied by the mill rate.
So a town fresh off a revaluation carries current, generally higher assessments against a lower rate. A town several years out carries older, generally lower assessments against a higher rate. The two effects work against each other, which is exactly why a rate table read on its own tells you very little.
On Candlewood the gap is wider than usual, because waterfront values have not moved in step with inland values. An assessment set in an older market can be well behind what a lakefront home would sell for today, and that difference gets corrected all at once at the next revaluation.
Where each town actually stands
New Milford, revalued October 1, 2025
This is the one happening right now. New Milford's 2025 revaluation established market value estimates as of October 1, 2025, and those values set the taxable assessments used for tax bills from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031.
If you own in New Milford, the bill you received this summer is the first one on the new numbers. The deadline to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals was February 20, 2026, so that window has closed for this cycle. What you can still do is check the physical record on your property for factual errors, because those get corrected outside the appeal calendar. New Milford's records are viewable through Vision Government Solutions.
Brookfield, revaluing now on the October 1, 2026 Grand List
Brookfield is mid process. Tyler Technologies is doing the field work, inspections began June 18, 2026 starting at Candlewood Lake Shores, and properties that sold between October 1, 2024 and October 1, 2026 get priority attention. New assessments reach bills in July 2027, and the mill rate that goes with them is not adopted until roughly late April or May of 2027.
Brookfield's own background document for the revaluation, a five page "Property Revaluation" explainer posted on the Assessor's Revaluation 2026 page with a file date of February 17, 2026, gives the rest of the calendar. Data mailers went out "starting the end of March 2026." Site visits cover "all properties that are sold between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2026, Open Building Permits, and any property were a data mailer retuned with major discrepancy." Then: "Notices will be mailed in November, 2026," informal hearings with Tyler staff "will take place starting November, 2026," any property whose value changes after the first notice "will receive another assessment notice in January 2027," and formal appeals go to the Board of Assessment Appeals in March, with the deadline printed plainly: "Appeals must be received by February 20, 2027 to be heard." The document also fixes the bill: "This revaluation will correspond to the tax bills that will be due beginning in July 2027." For a Brookfield lake house under contract this fall, that means the seller's assessment is the old one, the buyer's first bill on the new one arrives in July 2027, and the window to contest the new number is November 2026 to February 20, 2027.
Brookfield owners still have the whole appeal path ahead of them. That is worth knowing, because it is the cheapest moment to fix a factual error. I wrote up the full timeline in the Brookfield revaluation guide.
Danbury, next up on the October 1, 2027 Grand List
Danbury has one more year on current values. Its published rates show the pattern clearly: a sharp drop at its last revaluation, then a steady climb as budgets grew. Expect another reset in 2027, and expect the rate to fall when it happens without the town collecting less. A revaluation is revenue neutral: it does not change the total the town raises, it redistributes who pays it. Owners whose values rose faster than the town average pay more, owners who lagged pay less, and plenty of bills barely move. So a falling mill rate is not a tax cut, and a rising assessment is not automatically a bigger bill. Both are half the equation.
Sherman, revalued October 1, 2023, next in 2028
Sherman's 2023 revaluation replaced values that dated to October 2018, a five year gap that covered an unusual stretch of the market. Sherman's mill rate for the fiscal year ending 2026 is 16.67, the lowest of the five towns, which is a function of a small budget measured against Sherman's own tax base rather than a discount that transfers to your bill. Next reset is the 2028 Grand List.
New Fairfield, revalued October 1, 2024, next in 2029
New Fairfield is the cleanest illustration of the whole point. Its published mill rate ran 32.47, then 34.90, then 36.52, then 26.33 for the fiscal year ending 2026. That last figure is a drop of more than 10 mills in a single year, and nobody's taxes fell by anything like that proportion. The October 1, 2024 revaluation raised assessments across town, the Grand List grew, and the rate came down to raise a similar amount of revenue against a larger base.
What to do with this
If you are buying. Ask where the town sits in this cycle before you assume a tax figure will hold. Buying in a town about to revalue means buying into a reset you can see coming, and a listing that quotes current taxes is quoting a number with a known expiry date. Brookfield and Danbury are the two to watch.
If you are selling. Know what your assessment says and whether it matches reality. A lakefront property carrying an assessment from an older market can look like a bargain on paper, and a buyer's attorney will spot the coming correction.
If you own. Note your town's next year and put the appeal window on your calendar for that cycle. The informal review with the revaluation company comes first and is far easier than the formal Board of Assessment Appeals route. Missing the informal window does not end your options, but it makes them slower.
And in every case, do the arithmetic on the specific property rather than the town. Assessment multiplied by mill rate, both current, on the actual house.
Related reading: the second mill rate: every Candlewood Lake tax district on the state's fiscal 2026 list, how the five towns compare on mill rates and what Brookfield owners should expect from the 2026 revaluation.
If you want help reading what a specific Candlewood property is worth against what its town thinks it is worth, start at ConnorCTHomes.com.
Connor Kostyra, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, CT Lic. RES.0836348.
Connor CT Homes is a marketing brand. Real estate services are provided through RE/MAX Rise, 1297 Main Street, Watertown, CT 06795.
Revaluation years are as published by the State of Connecticut and are subject to change. Mill rates change annually. This is general information, not tax, legal or appraisal advice. Confirm dates and deadlines with your town assessor.
Common questions about Candlewood town revaluations
When does each of the five towns revalue next?
These are the October 1 Grand List years from the state schedule. Sherman revalued on 2023 and is next in 2028, then 2033. New Fairfield revalued on 2024, next in 2029, then 2034. New Milford revalued on 2025, next in 2030, then 2035. Brookfield is on the 2026 list, next in 2032, then 2036. Danbury is next on the 2027 list, then 2032 and 2037. Note that the intervals are not a clean five year march for everyone. Brookfield goes 2026 to 2032, which is six years. Read the published years rather than counting forward from the last one.
Why does the revaluation year matter more than the mill rate?
Under Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 12-62, a revaluation resets assessed values to current market evidence. Connecticut assesses at 70 percent of market value, and your bill is that assessment multiplied by the mill rate. So a town fresh off a revaluation carries current, generally higher assessments against a lower rate, while a town several years out carries older, generally lower assessments against a higher rate. The two effects work against each other, which is why comparing published mill rates head to head tells you very little on its own.
Can a mill rate really fall by more than 10 points in one year?
Yes, and New Fairfield is the cleanest illustration of it. Its published mill rate ran 32.47, then 34.90, then 36.52, then 26.33 for the fiscal year ending 2026. That last figure is a drop of more than 10 mills in a single year. That is what a revaluation does to a rate: assessments reset upward to current market evidence, so the rate comes down to fund the same budget. A falling mill rate is not by itself a tax cut, and reading one as good news is how buyers get the arithmetic wrong.
I own in New Milford. Can I still appeal?
Not for this cycle. New Milford's 2025 revaluation established market value estimates as of October 1, 2025, and those values set the taxable assessments used for tax bills from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. The deadline to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals was February 20, 2026, so that window has closed. The bill you received this summer is the first one on the new numbers, and they will carry for the rest of the cycle.
What should Brookfield owners be doing right now?
Brookfield is mid process on the October 1, 2026 Grand List, so unlike New Milford its owners still have the whole appeal path ahead of them. Tyler Technologies is doing the field work, inspections began June 18, 2026 starting at Candlewood Lake Shores, and properties that sold between October 1, 2024 and October 1, 2026 get priority attention. This is the cheapest moment to fix a factual error on your property record. The informal review with the revaluation company comes first and is far easier than the formal Board of Assessment Appeals route.
