Fair Haven, Little Silver and Shrewsbury Borough have been ordered by the Monmouth County Tax Board to conduct revaluations of property this year, said Stephen Walters, Tax Assessor for the three towns. The last revaluation was done in 2002.
A revaluation (rather than a reassessment) is ordered either when ten years has passed or when the ratio between Market Value and Assessed Value has dropped under 80 percent. Monmouth County Tax Board data show that Fair Haven's ratio is 77.02 percent, Little Silver is 77.40 percent and Shrewsbury's is 74.72 percent for 2011.
A revaluation does not mean a homeowner's taxes will go up. Generally, taxpayers of the most severely under assessed properties before a revaluation will pay a greater share of the tax burden after a revaluation. Likewise, taxpayers of overvalued properties will pay a smaller share of the town's taxes after the revaluation. Here's a link to the State of New Jersey's Division of Taxation official consumer brochure explaining the process. http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/revaluation.pdf
Fair Haven's former Mayor Michael Halfacre announced last fall that the borough's Council "determined it is not in the best interest of the taxpayers" to allow the revaluation. Officials in Shrewsbury and Little Silver decided to proceed with the revaluations, according to Walters.
"It's the dynamics. Some towns fight them off, others feel it's in best interest to make (tax burden distribution fair," Walters said. "No one will step up and say they like taxation, but there is some comfort level if people know there's a uniformity in assessments."
After the company that will be hired analyzes the data collected, property owners will get their opportunity to look at the results and correct any physical errors in the inspectors' findings, Walters said.
"Many times the meetings with owners is to confirm facts, such as how many bedrooms there are," he said. "If there is a question during the meeting, the firm will send someone to the property (to verify) and make a correction."
The specific assessment for a property is not addressed in those meetings, he said. Just the facts of the house's physical attributes is verified. An appeal for the $$ assessed would be addressed by filing a tax appeal in county tax court.
I urge homeowners to take an hour to visit Borough Hall when the opportunity is given to verify the accuracy of their home's information. We'll be tracking the progress of notifications for these towns and will keep you posted. In the meantime, if you would like more information or a copy of the State's informative brochures, just give me a call for same-day response.
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