Revaluation will be done by 2014, Reidy says
'We're now prepared to make it happen'
A property tax revaluation will be performed this year, to be completed in time for the 2014 tax season, city manager Terence Reidy said at the Jan. 16 council meeting.
Municipalities undergo revaluations approximately every decade to ensure that the assessment of properties for tax purposes aligns with actual property values. The revaluation does not increase the total amount in taxes collected citywide. Instead, it adjusts the amount each taxpayer contributes depending on how the new value assigned to their property compares with others.
Provisions in the New Jersey constitution dictate how often a municipality must conduct revaluations. If a municipality does not comply, the county tax assessor can order a revaluation.
The city and the company awarded the reval contract went through “a lot of back and forth,” Reidy said, but by the Jan. 16 council meeting, “we have resolved all the outstanding issues with the reval company at the original price,” he said.
The city was scheduled to move forward with the revaluation process the next day, Jan. 17, Reidy said.
The process was also delayed by the quality of the city’s tax maps, which “hadn’t been properly done in decades,” Reidy has said. The tax maps outline every lot in the city by use, including single-family structures, multi-family structures, commercial spaces and vacant lots. New maps were completed last March.
“The commitment is that it be done and be on the books in time for 2014,” Reidy said. “We’re now prepared to make that happen.”
The city’s most recent revaluation was completed in 2002, Reidy has said. The process this time will likely take six to nine months.
