The tax reassessment would take place in 2003 if approved by Borough Council.
By: Jennifer Potash
Princeton Borough Tax Assessor Carol Caskey is expected to request authorization from the Borough Council tonight to reassess borough properties in 2003.
"I want to let people know that it’s not this year, it’s not next year, but it’s coming, Ms. Caskey said.
The Borough Council meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at Borough Hall.
The tax assessor is authorized by state statute to reassess properties in order that they more closely reflect market value.
"This is not about bringing in money for the borough – it’s about making sure everybody is paying their fair share," Ms. Caskey said.
For example, two recently built homes on Cleveland Lane are assessed as if it were 1996, she said.
The assessed value of a home is multiplied by the tax rate in order to determine the owner’s property tax liability.
The average borough home was assessed at $340,962 in 2000.
In a reassessment, property values are updated largely through an in-house review of sales and building permits under direction of the tax assessor’s office staff. In a revaluation, an outside firm is hired to physically visit properties and develop a completely new set of values. The last property revaluation was conducted in 1996.
Usually the tax rate goes down after a reassessment or a revaluation, as the values of the properties are brought closer to actual market values, Ms. Caskey said.
The effect of the reassessment should not be anything like the 1996 revaluation, which came 14 years after the previous one, Ms. Caskey said.
"We had a lot of (tax) appeals that year," she recalled.
An "active" real estate market in the past couple of years was one indication a reassessment is needed, Ms. Caskey said.
Usually, the borough has between 65 and 70 property transactions each year. In 2000, there have been at least 100 transactions so far, she said.
"We’ve seen quite an increase in the selling prices of homes," she said.
As a result, the assessments are "getting far below the selling prices," Ms. Caskey said.
Another reason to do an assessment now is to adjust the borough’s share of Mercer County taxes, Mayor Marvin Reed said.
As the county determines a municipality’s contribution based on real estate sales, it is important to keep the assessments realistic, Mayor Reed said.
"We got hit with the county tax rate this year," he said.
The 2000 borough budget contains an appropriation to begin the reassessment, Mayor Reed said.
Should the Borough Council give her the go-ahead to do the reassessment, Ms. Caskey would send out notification to property owners in October 2002.
The process could take two years to complete, she said.
While New Jersey could stand for some reforms of its property assessment system, it is much better than other states, Ms. Caskey said.
"California sets its assessment at the price the house was sold," she said. "So your neighbor might be paying taxes on a rate based on the price of his home he bought 15 years ago."