Ledyard To Consider $7,861 Church Tax Dispute, $60,000 Drug Prevention Proposal

LEDYARD, CT — The Ledyard Finance Committee will consider a church's request to eliminate a disputed property tax bill and review a $60,000 drug prevention proposal when it meets Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The committee also will discuss strategies to limit property tax increases in the 2027-28 fiscal year, including how to address possible reductions in state aid and other municipal revenue.

Church Seeks Retroactive Property Tax Exemption

Healing Waters International is asking the town to grant a retroactive property tax exemption for its property at 33 Homestead Road, which the organization purchased Aug. 13, 2025.

The church, formerly known as The River Church VA, Inc., wants the exemption to take effect on the acquisition date rather than Oct. 1, 2024, the assessment date that town officials have applied.

In a Sept. 30 petition, the Rev. Russell Mason, the organization's founder and lead pastor, asked the Town Council to adopt an ordinance granting the exemption retroactively.

Mason said the property has been used for religious activities, clergy housing, counseling, mentoring and community programs since its purchase. He submitted photographs and descriptions of activities at the property, including worship gatherings, youth programs and kayaking activities involving Ledyard residents.

The church also cited two previous town ordinances that it said established precedents for granting retroactive exemptions to religious organizations.

According to correspondence from Town Assessor Adrianna Hedwall, the property was purchased for $485,000, with a recorded conveyance date of Aug. 14, 2025.

The assessor's office initially denied the organization's application for a charitable exemption because it did not find sufficient evidence to qualify the property under that classification.

Following a review by the Board of Assessment Appeals, however, the property was determined to qualify for an exemption as a dwelling used by officiating clergy under Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-81(15).

Hedwall said the exemption could take effect beginning with the Oct. 1, 2024, assessment date, which applies to the subsequent tax year. The assessor's explanation also indicated that tax exemptions generally cannot be applied to periods before the organization owned the property.

The church disputes that limitation.

In an Oct. 8 letter to the town's legal counsel, Mason challenged an alleged outstanding tax balance of $7,411.30, plus $450 in attorney's fees, totaling $7,861.30. He requested that collection efforts be suspended while the town considers the proposed ordinance.

The assessor's correspondence also documents a $977.64 payment made on the church's behalf in September 2025 and a property tax lien issued in March 2026.

Town Council Chairman Gary St. Vil told Mason in an Oct. 14 email that the review would address the acquisition-date exemption, the outstanding balance and the town's handling of comparable requests.

St. Vil said the town would seek additional guidance from the assessor and tax collector concerning what relief is legally available.

$60,000 Drug Prevention Program Under Review

The Finance Committee will continue examining possible uses for Ledyard's share of national opioid settlement payments.

Among the proposals is a $60,000 initiative from the Governor's Prevention Partnership called Prevention Starts with You, which would distribute medication disposal supplies to households throughout Ledyard.

According to a Sept. 2 presentation, the program would provide 6,800 drug deactivation and disposal pouches, with approximately 6,301 mailed directly to households and the remainder distributed through community organizations.

The partnership estimates the supplies could remove as many as 306,000 pills from circulation.

The proposal also includes educational materials encouraging parents to discuss substance use with their children and a reporting system allowing residents to anonymously identify the types and quantities of medication disposed of.

The organization describes the initiative as an eligible use of opioid settlement money.

The committee's supporting documents also include a previous proposal from the Ledyard Prevention Coalition and Ledge Light Health District.

In September 2023, the Town Council approved $36,100 in opioid settlement funding for a prevention, recovery and wellness program, reducing the coalition's original $40,000 request.

The approved changes reduced the number of naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, boxes from 194 to 154 and eliminated a proposed $2,000 police wellness dog expenditure.

The revised budget allocated $24,128 for staff costs, including program coordination and peer navigation, and $7,315 for naloxone.

Other expenditures included two emergency overdose boxes, transportation assistance, public awareness activities and program supplies.

The Town Council required quarterly reports on the program's effectiveness and specified that the allocation did not guarantee future funding.

The Finance Committee also has a 2022 national opioid settlement allocation notice among its supporting materials. That document identified $35,171.02 in payments allocated to Ledyard through the Janssen settlement.

Property Tax Strategy And School Budget Meetings

The committee will continue discussing ways to minimize increases in the town's property tax rate for fiscal 2027-28.

Among the uncertainties identified in the agenda are the possibility that Connecticut will not repeat additional state funding received for the 2026-27 budget and potential reductions in other revenue, including motor vehicle-related receipts.

Committee members also will discuss establishing quarterly joint financial meetings between the Town Council Finance Committee and the Board of Education, as well as potential municipal grant opportunities.

Meeting Schedule And Financial Reports

The committee is scheduled to review financial reports for fiscal 2025-26 and 2026-27 and consider approving its Oct. 7 meeting minutes.

Members also will consider adopting a 2027 meeting calendar, generally scheduling meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 5 p.m., with some exceptions.

The Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Town Council Chambers at the Town Hall Annex, 741 Colonel Ledyard Highway.

Residents can participate remotely through the town's Zoom meeting link, using meeting ID 838 3662 3916 and passcode 150935.