Firm Chosen For Borough Reassessment

The mayor and Council approved the appointment of Appraisal Systems of Glen Rock as the firm that will perform borough reassessments. 

Appraisal Systems, which came in with the lowest bid of $125,000, also performed the 2004 reassessment. The figure represents only the cost of the actual revaluation.

Borough tax assessor Maureen Kaman informed the mayor and Council during a Feb. 13 meeting that since the 2004 revaluation, the housing market has sharply declined, taking property values with it. Given the housing market fluctuations, she said that tax appeals are on the rise with 123 property owners filing tax appeals in 2011.

"The town loses money with every appeal," Kaman said.

She also informed the council that there have been a number of short sales, estate sales, foreclosures and bankruptcies during 2011, all resulting in a loss of stable ratables for the town.

Performing reassessments will cut the number of tax appeals for 2013 and ultimately save the town money, Kaman said. 

"If we don't do this, we'll have appeals every year," she said.

Additionally, 284 flood area properties have received a property tax reduction for 2012. Kaman said she did this because, "These property owners would have appealed and we would have had a loss."

During the Feb. 13 mayor and council meeting, Kaman provided a quote of $203,000 as the total cost of completing the reassessment. The council requested that Kaman provide a detail of what the costs above Appraisal System's quote of $125,000 represent.