Tale of 2 Tax Bills: Little Silver, Oceanport Growth Compared to State Average

The average Oceanport and Little Silver taxpayer pays more in property taxes than the statewide average, but Oceanport's average tax bill percentage increase was well below the state's average in 2012.

In contrast, the average Little Silver taxpayer's bill increase was almost double the statewide average.

The data is contained within a Star Ledger analysis that looked at the average bills in all 566 municipalities in the state in 2012, two years after the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie enacted a hard 2 percent cap on local budget growth.

Oceanport had an average $9,221.06 tax bill in 2012, as compared to the $7,870.28 state average. However, the analysis found that the statewide average growth over 2011 was 1.7, with Oceanport's average bill increasing only 0.5 percent.

Little Silver far outstripped the average tax bill statewide, with residents paying $11,903.23 and up 3 percent over the previous year compared to the statewide increase of 1.7 percent.

Little Silver taxpayers also paid more for the local school bill than the statewide average, paying on average $7,367.51 compared to the state average of $4,120.16. The average Oceanport taxpayer paid $5,322.23 in local school taxes in 2012.

The analysis shows only 61 municipalities had a higher total bill than Little Silver did in 2012 while 149 municipalities paid more on average in 2012 than Oceanport taxpayers.

The Star-Ledger noted that property taxes statewide rose 2.4 percent in 2011, the first year Christie’s 2 percent cap was in effect. But the trend of lower increases could be reversed because of Hurricane Sandy costs, according to the report.