Abatement for Daycare Provider Gets Another Look

In 2022, Connecticut legislation went into effect, allowing municipalities to abate up to 100% of property taxes for licensed in-home daycare facilities for up to five years. The issue has come before Stafford's Board of Selectmen (BOS) more than once, but on December 3, 2025, the issue finally had a human face. Stafford resident and daycare provider Lara Wilguess appeared before the new board to make her case for the abatement.

In the past, much of the opposition to enacting the tax abatement centered on the perceived unfairness to other home-based businesses. Wilguess addressed that, noting that the state limited the number of children she could have in her daycare. As a one-person operation, she can have six children, two of whom can be under 18 months old. Right now, she said, she only has five children because her wait list is for infants and she cannot legally take on more. In other words, unlike other small businesses, daycares can't simply "bring in more product to make more money."

Wilguess said that Stafford has four home-based daycares, meaning these small outfits can care for only eight infants. Larger daycare centers can take in more clients, but often cost more. She also noted that her healthcare premiums are going up to $1,200 a month, and that a tax abatement would help her prevent having to raise her rates.

The legislation's language gives towns a lot of leeway in how they enact, or don't, this abatement. They could choose to abate a percentage of property taxes, enact a flat rate, or enact it for a shorter term. Wilguess also noted that only three of the town's four in-home daycares are eligible, as the licensee must own their home.

Back in September of 2024, when this issue was discussed, five properties qualified. Tami L. Rossi, Stafford’s assessor, said that if the town abated 100% of the property taxes for all of these providers, it would represent a loss of $24,462 per year. A 50% abatement would result in a $12,231 annual loss. She also pointed out that some towns have opted to set it at a flat $1,000 per dwelling, which would mean a $5,000 loss per year. With only three qualifying daycares now on the roster, those numbers would likely decrease.