Essex Junction becomes its own city.

Recently Essex Junction became its own city. This is the first time in 100 years (the last time was when Winooski left Colchester 100 years ago) This video here explains a bit more about what recently happened.

How was Essex Junction Originally Formed?

As Steve Perkins from the Vermont Historical Society explains below, Essex Junction was originally formed to take some of the burdens of the rail infrastructure off the town of Essex.

What happened and why did Essex Junction recently split from Essex?

After many years of political debate in Vermont, last year, in 2022, the Village of Essex Junction officially separated from the town of Essex, becoming the newly incorporated City of Essex Junction. Until this split occurred, property owners in Essex Junction paid taxes to both the village and the town and after the separation, the 41% of the town’s property taxes that came from the residents of Essex Junction is now absent from the town of Essex grand list value of the taxable property.

What is the impact on Essex and Essex Jct condo owners?

Both Essex and Essex Junction each have their own government and property tax system which has led each town to make some adjustments to their future budgets, with the town of Essex being affected more greatly. The Essex select board chose to enact a $15.4 million budget for the fiscal year 2024, which was leaner than past years, but with the shortfall of property taxes, proposed a 22% increase in property taxes for homeowners in the town. For a median homeowner with a value of $280,000, this would likely lead to an approximate increase of $340 in the yearly tax bill. On Tuesday, March 6th, 2023, the voters in Essex Junction, on their first Town Meeting Day, overwhelmingly passed the new budget 657-303.

The newly created municipality of Essex Junction is also looking at a tax increase although more tempered at 1.5%, as they will need to increase staff and add additional departments. Essex Junction will still help pay toward the local police department and property assessing departments, but their dues owed to the county transit authority, Green Mountain Transit, will decrease considerably, because of the decrease in the city’s population. After the split, both Essex and Essex Junction have about 11,000 residents each, with Essex covering 39 square miles compared to Essex Junction’s 4.75 square miles.

Even with the hike, residents of both towns are still happy:)

Even though Essex is facing a larger tax hike, residents in both areas seem to be happy with the decision and look forward to the simplicity of individual governments. Have you been affected by this municipal split and the corresponding tax increases? If you are considering buying a condo or townhome in Essex, does this information change your thoughts about where to target your property search? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear what you think about this!