About

This site models fiscal decisions facing Enfield, Connecticut, so that residents, council members and reporters can see what a proposal actually does to a tax bill — and can check the arithmetic.

This site exists because these decisions are usually argued with adjectives. It argues with arithmetic instead. If the arithmetic is wrong, say so and it gets fixed — publicly, in the changelog.

Who builds it

This site is built and maintained by one person, independently. It is not affiliated with the Town of Enfield, any fire district, any candidate, or any party, and nobody pays for it.

Why the code is private but the method isn't

The repository is private. Transparency is carried by the site instead: every model renders the full list of assumptions it uses, with the source and the date for each one; the sources page lists every figure on the site; and the changelog records every change, including corrections. If a number here is wrong, you can see exactly which number, where it came from, and when it was taken.

What the confidence labels mean

• Official — from the body that produces the figure: the state's grand list and mill rate datasets, a town document, a statute.
• Reported — a news outlet or a meeting document reported it, and no primary source is published. Cited to the outlet.
• Estimate — nobody has published it and I have assumed a value. These are marked est. wherever they appear and carry a note explaining the basis. They are the first things to replace when better data appears.

Corrections

Corrections are welcome and are the main reason the assumptions are shown in full. The most useful correction names the specific assumption key, the value you believe is right, and where it is published.

A contact address will be listed here. Until then, corrections can be left in the comments on any model page.

When a correction changes a number, the change is logged in the changelog with the date. Numbers are not edited silently.

What this site does not do

• It does not tell you how to vote, and takes no position on any proposal.
• It does not compute your actual tax bill. Only the Assessor and the Collector of Revenue do that.
• It does not set or track cookies, and makes no third-party requests unless you click to load comments.
• It has no accounts, no logins, and collects nothing about you.

Reuse

Local outlets are welcome to embed any model; each model page carries a copy-paste snippet. Embeds are chrome-less and link back here for the sources. If you want a model built for a decision that is coming up, ask.