In October of each year, the Comptroller shall pay to the one hundred sixty-nine towns of the state, from any funds appropriated for such purpose, a grant for property tax relief, distributed on the basis of the ratio of the population of each town to the population of the state. For the purposes of this section, “population” means the number of persons residing in each town according to the most recent federal decennial census, with patients and inmates of state hospitals, institutions of correction, and other state institutions excluded.