Due to a high number of tax appeals after a 2008 assessment, Lincoln Park recently completed its reassessment and noted a $149 million drop in value. In 2008, Lincoln Park was valued at $738 million; in 2009, it was valued at $1.576 billion. However, after the appeals went through, it was sliced down to $1.528 billion.
The drop from the reassessment forced the Lincoln Park school board to pass the first tax decrease in years for its 2012-2013 budget. However, thanks to the ratio rebalancing from the lost revenue, the effort made was disputable.
Each homeowner will see an average increase of $33 on their tax bill even though the school district had a $134,000 tax decrease. On the municipal side of the coin, a tax increase of $90 is expected although officials said they did what they could to decrease the budget to bare minimums.
West Milford also recently completed their property tax reassessment; the district saw an increase in its value to $2.782 billion…up from $1.492 billion. Residents, including people who have lakefront properties, are questioning the assessment made. This questioning could lead to a significant number of property tax appeals being filed, which would cost the municipality time and money.
Kampfe Lake and other area residents in Bloomingdale took their concerns to its town council meeting March 6. From the feedback the officials received, Bloomingdale officials approved Appraisal Systems Inc.’s $224,700 bid to have the town’s properties reassessed. This reassessment could soon place the town in a similar scenario as Lincoln Park.
Some New Jersey property tax experts have said when all is said and done, people with little to no knowledge on how property taxes work hurt themselves in the long-run to satisfy themselves in the short-term — which may not be what they expected.
Seems residents are learning a hard lesson as to how reassessments only benefit those property owners who had a higher than average assessment in their original revaluation.
Victory in altering their assessments for many appears short-lived — as they do so at the risk of increasing – rather than decreasing — their tax bite.
Lincoln Park's reassessment knocks out $144 million from property valuationNorthJersey.comBY SID JOHNSTON The borough has completed its community-wide property tax reassessment after receiving a revaluation in ……More at Lincoln Park's reassessment knocks out $144 million from property …
