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Post-Revaluation Changes To Tax Bill Won't Hit Until 2009
By Catherine Snipe
For taxpayers in Brick Township, 2009 will be an important year. That's when tax bills will be first affected by a townshipwide property revaluation currently moving forward in the community.
The council has been discussing the revaluation contract since July, when council members and township officials debated whether the township should delay the state and county-mandated property revaluation in order to wait out the housing market, or comply immediately with a county order.
A revaluation assesses the property values across the entire township, for tax purposes providing a more up-to-date figure on what property is actually worth in the community.
A revaluation could mean a lower tax rate after it is complete, township officials said. However, the value of the property is not likely to drop, and in most cases will, in fact, increase, balancing out the lowered tax rate. The rough rule of thumb experts on revaluations offer is that about one third of property owners see a tax bill decrease, one third see an increase, and the remaining third stay about the same.
The last revaluation took place in 1992. Because of the dramatically changed real estate market, the Ocean County Board of Taxation ordered Brick in February 2005 to complete a revaluation to take effect in 2008. That means the township may have to seek an extension from the county taxation board.
The revaluation was ordered to make the current assessed property values in the township match their actual fair market values. Currently, the ratio between the assessed and fair market values is low, with valuations well below actual market value. The goal of the revaluation is to ensure township property valuations accurately reflect the market.
At the time the county ordered the revaluation, the township's ratio of assessed property value to true property value was 51.80 percent, according to the Ocean County Board of Taxation. In other words, on average properties in Brick were valued for tax purposes at almost half their actual market value.
There are more than 33,000 properties in the township that will be revaluated, officials said.
The council approved a contract for $1.46 million to do the revaluation work, awarded to Mendham Firm Appraisal Systems, Inc. The money is labeled an emergency appropriation, and will pay for a complete program of revaluation, as well as mapping of real estate property.
The township received two bids from firms hoping the township would award them the revaluation contract, which were priced at about $1,000 apart.
The next step is to send the contract to the state for approval, and have a Brick headquarters set up.
Brick Township is one of nine Ocean County municipalities ordered to perform revaluations. Jackson, Manchester, Berkeley and Toms River townships, among others, are all undergoing the same process.
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