Connecticut Citizens' Assembly on Property Taxes (2026, in progress)
This is one of the most ambitious citizens’ assemblies yet run in the United States — and it’s happening now. Convened by DemocracyNext, it puts a randomly-selected group of Connecticut residents to work on the thorny question of property taxes and how to fund local public services fairly. It’s included here while still in progress because its design is unusually instructive; its recommendations and impact are not yet known.
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”| Process type | Citizens’ assembly (random selection) |
| When | 2026 — in progress |
| Where | Connecticut, USA |
| Convened by | DemocracyNext, with the CT State Comptroller (Sean Scanlon), the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, and the University of Connecticut |
| Participants | ~100 randomly-selected Connecticut residents |
| The question | How should Connecticut reform property taxes and fund local public services? |
| Output | Pending — recommendations expected; a state legislative hearing is planned |
What happened (so far)
Section titled “What happened (so far)”Residents were recruited by sending invitation letters to a very large number of households, then randomly selecting a representative panel from those who responded. Two design choices stand out:
- Connecting the micro-public to the macro-public. Upstream, the partner platform Make.org gathers the wider public’s views on property taxes; midway, early recommendations go back to a representative public sample for feedback before being finalised. Self-organised local “mini-deliberations” — subsidised with sponsored ice cream (Ben & Jerry’s) — aim to link the assembly to ordinary residents.
- Citizen governance. Partway through, the expert governance committee surrenders its voting rights, handing procedural control — experts, schedule, even the form the final output takes — to the participants, within budget guardrails. (See letting citizens govern the assembly.)
Inputs → outputs
Section titled “Inputs → outputs”In: random-selection recruitment, Make.org public input, expert sessions, and self-organised local deliberations.
Out: pending — recommendations the State Comptroller has pledged to bring to a legislative hearing.
Impact
Section titled “Impact”Pending. The Comptroller has promised a legislative hearing and signalled he’ll use the assembly’s output to inform his policy platform, but made no binding pre-commitment to adopt it.
How it went
Section titled “How it went”Too early to say — this report will be updated when the assembly concludes. It’s worth watching as a live test of two problems that have dogged every citizens’ assembly: how to connect the people in the room with the people outside it, and whether citizens can genuinely govern the process themselves.
Sources
Section titled “Sources”- Connecticut Citizens’ Assembly on Property Taxes
- CT Assembly — Office of the State Comptroller
- Hélène Landemore — DemocracyNext (2026): youtube.com/watch?v=sgFUtZCgAqI.