Breakdown: Where Did Your Chatham Taxes Go In 2014?

New Jersey, land of the property tax.

But where does that money go, and what is it used for?

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs this week released its complete breakdown of each municipality’s tax payments to schools, libraries, counties, and open space sections.

Chatham Township had the sixth highest property taxes in Morris County, with the Borough coming in at number 8. Overall, Morris County had some of the highest tax paying towns in the state.

The average property value in for Chatham Township in 2014 came in at $762,648 with the average annual tax payment of $13,251. The property value is good for 36th in the state, while the tax payment comes in at 50th in the state.

The average property value in for Chatham Borough in 2014 came in at $661,262 with the average annual tax payment of $13,251. The property value is good for 55th in the state, while the tax payment comes in at 61st in the state.

A total of 566 municipalities in New Jersey were included in the data breakdown.

Morris County’s average home value in 2014, the DCA said, was $403,973, and the average annual tax payment was $9,666. That ranked the county fifth and fourth in the state in those categories, respectively.

But where did your Chatham property taxes go in 2014? Here’s a breakdown for Chatham Township:

• School District of the Chathams: $34,744,206
• Municipal Open Space Tax: $152,252.34
• Library Tax: $994,869
• Municipal Tax: $8,629,321.23
• Total Municipal Taxes: $9,776,442.57
• County Tax: $8,398,954.59
• Total Chatham Township Tax Used for Tax Rate: $52,919,603.16

The total figure turns into a tax rate of 1.738 in 2014, or $1.74 in taxes for every $100 of assessed property value. That rate was good enough for 32nd in the county out of 39 municipalities.

Here’s a breakdown for Chatham Borough:

• School District of the Chathams: $24,719,456
• Municipal Open Space Tax: $102,894.98
• Library Tax: $843,735
• Municipal Tax: $7,518,208.15
• Total Municipal Taxes: $8,464,838.13
• County Tax: $5,845,571.30
• Total Chatham Borough Tax Used for Tax Rate: $39,029,065.43

The total figure turns into a tax rate of 1.897 in 2014, or $1.90 in taxes for every $100 of assessed property value. That rate was good enough for 29th in the county out of 39 municipalities.

County, municipal, and school districts are subject to a 2-percent tax levy cap each year, which prohibits each body from exceeding the previous year’s budget by two-percent. In the case that a town or school district needs to surpass the limit, a vote must be put to the public. Health and pension costs supplied by the town or school district to its employees is exempt from the tax cap.

So, what do you think, Chatham? How does your town stack up against the rest of the county? How about the rest of the state? Are you happy with the numbers are do you think something needs to change?

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