Concerns Over Tax Revaluation Addressed In Chatham Council Meeting

CHATHAM, NJ — Ongoing frustrations regarding the outcome of the state-ordered property revaluations in Chatham Borough were discussed at the recent borough council meeting.

Following the outpouring of confusion among residents who received their final revaluation letters, a representative from Appraisal Systems, Inc. was present at the meeting, providing more insight on the revaluation process.

Jason Cohen, the project manager of Appraisal Systems, spoke before the public addressing concerns and providing more information on the company.

According to Cohen, Appraisal Systems Inc. has been in operation for more than 40 years and is one of only a select group of companies that the State of New Jersey has authorized to carry out property tax revaluations across the entire state.

"For each of the revaluations that the firm conducts, there is an established process that complies with all legal and regulatory requirements. We detail this process on our website and conduct all of our revaluations in an open and transparent manner," Cohen said.

However, according to some borough residents, this is not the case. When borough residents began receiving revaluation letters, an alleged discrepancy was brought to the community's attention.

Patti Page of the Republican Club of the Chathams made a public statement against Councilwoman Jocelyn Mathiasen, questioning why her property was one of the few ones not to have a value increase.

Page asserted that out of the 1,972 Colonial-style homes assessed in the borough, Mathiasen's home received a lower value while the homes on either side were valued higher.

"We are aware that a question has been raised regarding the preliminary revaluation of a property at 86 Fairmount Avenue, in Chatham Borough, which is owned by a member of the borough council," Cohen said.

During last week's meeting, local resident Freddie Bicknese spoke out, requesting that this discrepancy be clarified by the board or by Appraisal Systems.

"It makes sense that somebody's home would go up in value in 18 years. It just is sort of peculiar that one particular home would stand out and I think the public deserves more of an explanation," Bicknese said.

Cohen claimed that the company has assessed the value of homes owned by numerous elected officials at all levels of government over the years, and in this case, as always, they used the same procedure as for every other home in the borough.

"To be crystal clear, the property at 86 Fairmount Avenue was valued according to the same parameters that were used for all other residential properties in Chatham," Cohen said.

Bicknese asked for a more detailed explanation as to why his home value increased so much more than Mathiasen's, and Cohen replied that it would not be appropriate to publicly answer whether her property's foundation issues or other issues contributed to the difference.

"To go over that in a public forum like this, is inappropriate. It's a one-on-one situation, we will meet with any and all people that own property in the borough and go over any and all properties in the borough," Cohen said.

In-person meetings at borough hall to discuss the revaluation with Appraisal System Inc. representatives can be made by calling (201) 493-8530, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meeting dates are available until the first week of January.

According to Cohen, around 300 borough property owners have already scheduled their one-on-one meetings.