Reassessment Bidder Pulls Out Over Criticism

The sole bidder for Moorestown’s reassessment has withdrawn its bid, .

Mayor John Button said Monday the township had been notified by Appraisal Systems Inc. (ASI) it would retract its bid of $195,080 to perform the reassessment.

ASI performed the township’s 2007 revaluation. Soon after, the township was bombarded with assessment appeals, . Township financial officer Tom Merchel and tax assessor Dennis DeKlerk have placed the brunt of the blame on the real estate crash, but Button and Deputy Mayor Greg Gallo have insisted market forces weren’t the sole cause of the problem.

“One of the strong issues were the inequities (in value) among similar homes in similar neighborhoods,” Button said last week. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the economy.”

Gallo, who successfully appealed his own assessment, said he was “disappointed” ASI was the only firm to turn in a bid given the less-than-satisfying results from the last revaluation.

Though he was hesitant to approve the company’s bid last week, the deputy mayor did say he believed ASI was a “good and reputable agency.”

However, it seems the negative commentary bothered ASI enough that they withdraw their bid, according to Button.

“I’m very surprised they opted ... to simply back out,” he said. “If I were to have done a study like that, that ended up having some significant issues, regardless of the reason … I would at the very least want to go in and talk to (the people who hired me).”

According to Merchel and DeKlerk, due to the volatile nature of the housing market, reassessment firms like ASI are exceptionally busy right now, which is why it was the only company to bid.

If ASI retracts its bid, it could leave the township in a bind trying to find a way , given the dearth of available firms. But Button remained optimistic.

“I’m not ready to say that it puts us in a tough position,” he said, mentioning that township manager Scott Carew had reached out to ASI. “We’ll just react to it. One way or the other, we’ll get this done.”

ASI could not be reached for comment Monday night.