The borough’s ratio of assessments to market value has fallen to a percentage in the 70s.
By: Linda Seida
STOCKTON A boroughwide revaluation will be completed by October 2004, and the new assessment values will be on the tax rolls by the following year, according to tax assessor Richard Vinchur.
"What a revaluation will do is bring all assessments up to market value," he told Borough Council during a workshop meeting Monday.
The process involves a thorough inspection of every property, he explained.
A revaluation is necessary because the ratio of selling prices to assessed values has fallen in the borough, according to Mr. Vinchur.
"Every municipality has a ratio based on its sales," he said.
When a municipality’s ratio falls to a percentage in the 70s, which is where Stockton’s is, the county requires a revaluation.
For example, if a house sells for $400,000 but is assessed at $200,000, its ratio is 50 percent.
"What the real goal is, you should be at 100 percent," Mr. Vinchur said. "It’s better to always be at 100 percent if you can."
In other words, assessment should equal market value.
When a revaluation occurs, estimates say about one-third of property owners will end up paying higher taxes, one-third will pay less, and another third will see no difference, Mayor Gregg Rackin said.
"Everybody will be paying their fair share," Mr. Vinchur said. "It’s not really a horror story. If a property is worth $400,000, it should be assessed at $400,000."
The first step is to review and update Stockton’s tax map. In the meantime, the job of reassessing properties will go out to bid, most likely by August, he said.
"There’s not going to be a problem getting this done by next year," the assessor assured the council.
A revaluation, which hasn’t been performed in Stockton since 1990, will cost the borough approximately $23,000, Mr. Vinchur said.
"By the time it hits tax rolls in 2005, it’ll be 15 years," he added.
Auditor William Colantano first informed the borough of the need for a revaluation during a council meeting held June 30. He said borough residents paid $55,000 more in county taxes in 2002 than the previous year because county taxes are based on the assumed value of a property, not the assessed value. The assumed value is based on the sale of homes in a community.