After Falling-Out, Township Brings Reassessment Firm Back to Table

Thanks to the persistence of three of the township’s professionals, reassessment is back on track—and for a reasonable price.

After Appraisal Systems Inc. (ASI) , township manager Scott Carew said tax assessor Dennis DeKlerk reached out to every other certified assessment company in the state “to see if they’d be willing to talk to us.”

Carew said only three companies responded, and their offers were less than satisfactory.

“Two of them wanted to drastically change the scope (of the reassessment), and the prices were exorbitant,” he said. “And the third company did not have as good a reputation as ASI, and their price was double, probably because they thought we were desperate.”

ASI was the sole bidder for the township’s reassessment, about the company’s performance on the 2007 revaluation.

Deputy Mayor Greg Gallo, who successfully appealed his own assessment after the revaluation, previously said he was “disappointed” ASI was the lone bidder, and Mayor John Button referenced “inequities” in property value among similar properties. ASI CEO Ernie Del Guercio took umbrage at the comments—he called them "political cheap shots"—and shortly after pulled back his company’s bid.

But Carew, DeKlerk and financial officer Tom Merchel were dogged in their efforts to bring ASI back to the table, and ultimately were able to arrange a meeting between the company and township representatives, including Button, Gallo and Carew.

Button said it was “a very good and productive discussion.”

“On behalf of the citizens of town, we had a responsibility to make sure we had a good chat with ASI about lessons learned from the last time,” said Gallo. “They were very forthcoming, very motivated to do a good job for the town.”

Council unanimously approved a professional service agreement with ASI Monday night for reassessment, which will cost about $195,000. The 2007 revaluation cost the township about $600,000.

Carew said he’ll work with ASI in the coming weeks to develop a “publicity plan,” to involve public meetings and information on the township website.

“People are going to have questions”—How will reassessment be done? Why is it being done? What’s the recourse for people who don’t like their new assessment?—he said, and the township (and ASI) need to provide answers.

, which is the primary reason for the reassessment.