Jersey City Property Owners To Get Refund After Arts Tax Overcharge

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City property owners will get a refund in their next tax bill following an overcharge on the last bill.

The overcharge was flagged by residents in the Next Door Van Vorst Park site. Resident's property tax bill showed a charge of 2 cents per $100 of assessed property value, under the new arts fund tax, making the average bill for the tax $96. The bill was an overcharge by 800 percent, as the council previously agreed on a levy for the arts and culture tax fund at one-quarter of a penny per $100 of assessed property value.

Robinson Holloway, founder of the Jersey City Arts Council who had a hand in the creation of the Arts Trust Fund, responded on Nextdoor and was the first to reassure residents that the overcharge was a mistake and that the city was looking into it.

"The City is aware and looking into it. So your actual Arts & Culture tax should be what was promised - about $25/year for property worth $1 million," Holloway wrote on the forum.

On Monday morning, Mayor Steven Fulop addressed the overcharged in a Facebook post saying the city, "Realized that the a assessor implemented the Arts Trust Fund in your tax bill at the higher end of the possible range (.02 cents per $100) when in reality we agreed with the City Council that this should be at the low end of the range (.002 cents per $100)."

Fulop told residents that the average homeowner should expect "an $88 further reduction in their taxes on the average assessment of $480,000. This further reduction will be reflected in 4th quarter tax bill which we will be sending out the second week of October."

The Facebook post went on to praise the reduction in taxes throughout the city, "We are really proud that we were able to lower municipal taxes by $1000 on the average homeowner and this credit further lower taxes to help Jersey City families."

The arts trust fund was voted in last November during a referendum, to create funding sources for artists and arts organizations in the city. The fund is the first municipal fund in the state, and officials said they expect it to generate $1 million annually in critical long-term funding for Jersey City's arts community.

The March City Council vote on the arts fund tax levy set homeowner payments to the fund at about $20 a year to the fund in taxes. The majority of the funds, 95 percent, will be distributed by the Arts and Culture Trust Fund Committee while the other 5 percent are distributed by the Jersey City Arts and Culture Council, which will be working alongside the committee, according to the ordinance.

This is the second overcharge this year from the city. The city suspended the "water tax" in July after residents and councilors pointed out overcharges. The tax dealt with the city's solid waste fees and billed residents for trash pickup based on their water usage. The tax drew criticism as resident bills soared and ultimately was suspended.