‘Nightmare’ Tax Bills For West Orange Homeowners Linked To Revaluation

WEST ORANGE, NJ — If you opened your third quarter tax bill in West Orange and saw some “nightmare” numbers, there’s a good chance it was because of the recent property revaluation, a township administrator says.

West Orange’s chief financial officer, John Ditinyak, gave the town council an update on the 2025 municipal budget at their meeting on Tuesday. The proposed spending plan includes an $80 municipal tax increase for an average home assessed at $615,472. Read More: Town Budget Advances In West Orange, Tax Hike Shrinks

However, Ditinyak pointed to another reason for the sticker shock that many West Orange residents faced when they opened their latest tax bill.

“Even if we had a zero dollar increase introducing tonight and had that as part of the estimate, the third quarter still would have looked like a nightmare for 60 percent of people – and that’s because of revaluation,” Ditinyak told the council.

West Orange recently carried out a property tax revaluation campaign – the first it has seen in more than a decade. The mandatory program was ordered by the Essex County Board of Taxation and approved by the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

During a revaluation, all local properties are reassessed to find out their current “full and fair value.” The goal? To make sure each home or business owner is paying their fair share toward the town’s overall tax burden.

Although almost all property values rise during a revaluation, it doesn't necessarily mean that all property taxes will increase, experts explain: some may rise and others may fall (learn more here).

West Orange reportedly saw “widespread” increases in home values, which were not confined to specific pockets or neighborhoods. Residential homeowners saw their property values increase by an average of $343,513 – about 82 percent (the median average increase was $274,600 or 89 percent).

• See Related: 'Scary Numbers' For Some West Orange Homeowners Amid Tax Revaluation

Ditinyak reiterated the impact on local homeowners at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“The third quarter was so dramatic for so many people because of the revaluation,” the town’s chief financial officer explained. “First and second quarter bills were based off of the 2024 tax levy, which was based off of a reduced [assessment] for 60 percent of West Orange residents. And when that assessment went up, and now they're paying a larger portion of the taxes than they did in 2024, third quarter, it’s just such a monumental increase.”

Ditinyak added that the fourth quarter “is not going to be as bad” because the revaluation was taken into account during the previous bill.

In the meanwhile, rising tax rates continue to impact local homeowners.

“I've had so many residents calling me – not just the seniors – about their inability to afford West Orange,” Councilwoman Susan Scarpa said at Tuesday's meeting.

“I have a dear friend a few blocks away who's moving to Delaware,” the councilwoman continued. “She's been a longtime resident and she just can't afford the taxes in our township any more. It's just a really, really challenging problem we have right now and we have to tackle it head on and look for economies of scale.”

Watch footage from the July 22 town council meeting below (video is cued to Ditinyak’s comments):

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