Tax Revaluation Puts Spotlight On Chatham Borough Official

CHATHAM, NJ — The borough's properties have been undergoing a state-ordered property revaluation process since last month, which has caused some concern among residents who have received their final revaluation letters.

At the last borough council meeting, Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz discussed the revaluation process with the goal of easing residents worry of a steep increase in property taxes.

"I think it's important to offer some clarifying remarks, which hopefully will lay some of the expressed fears. First of all, I think it's very important to keep this in mind, the previous revaluation was done 18 years ago in 2004, so it should come as no surprise that the new property assessments are to some degree higher than the previous ones," Kobylarz said.

When the revaluation process was first announced, many borough officials emphasized that the process does not imply that all residents and business owners will face higher property taxes; rather, the new tax rates are based on borough-wide averages.

The property revaluations that were ordered by the state and conducted by Appraisal Systems, Inc. were meant to assess property values and "fairly distribute" taxes throughout the borough.

"However, just because your assessment may have increased, by say 30 percent or more, does not mean that your property taxes will go up by this same amount," Kobylarz said.

The final tax rate that will be applied in 2023 to all tax payers will not be known until the final budget is presented in the spring, officials said.

Jason Cohen of Appraisal Systems, Inc. previously stated that the tax rate could rise, fall, or stay unchanged. He described it as a pie, with the assessment only determining the size of each taxpayer's slice.

As revaluation letters began to be mailed to borough residents, an alleged discrepancy was brought to the community's attention.

Patti Page of the Republican Club of the Chathams made a public accusation against Councilwoman Jocelyn Mathiasen, accusing her and the council of receiving benefits from the appraisal company.

According to Page's claim, out of the 1,972 Colonial style homes that were assessed within the borough, Mathiasen's home received a reduced value, while adjacent homes on either side were assessed upwards.

"It is accurate that the valuation of my home declined; I immediately reached out to find out why. They said I was welcome to meet with them but they’d already double-checked it (they check all local employee and elected officials assessments) and didn’t expect the valuation would change unless I had new information. Factors were the size of the lot, closeness to the road, and condition. I’m not an assessor so I can’t speak to that," Mathiasen told Patch.

Mathiasen also refuted the point that members of the council were involved in the reevaluation process in any way. "We found out what our assessment was the same way everyone else did."

Residents were encouraged by both the council and by Appraisal Systems, Inc. to visit the tax assessor page on the borough website if they have any questions.

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. within seven days of receiving the revaluation letter, officials said.