BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer
The Ocean County Board of Taxation has ordered Brick Township to conduct a property revaluation that will take effect in 2008, township officials announced Friday.
The revaluation was ordered to make the current assessed property values in the township match their fair market values, according to a Feb. 25 press release from the township administration.
“The purpose of a revaluation is not to generate additional tax revenue for the municipality,” Township Tax Assessor Frederick R. Millman said. “A revaluation is used for the equitable distribution of property taxes.”
“People are always nervous about the revaluation, primarily because they don’t know a lot about it,” Township Business Administrator Scott MacFadden said Monday.
There are 33,440 properties in the township that will be revaluated, the press release states. The township’s ratio of assessed property value to true property value is 51.80 percent, according to the Ocean County Board of Taxation. The revaluation would bring that assessed value to 100 percent of its true value.
According to township officials, property tax rates will be adjusted accordingly to reflect the updated property values after the revaluation is completed.
“Revaluation does not automatically mean an increase in property taxes,” MacFadden said.
While most people will see a change in their tax bill after the revaluation is completed, MacFadden said the differences will vary. Some property owners’ taxes will go up, some will go down, and some will stay the same, he said.
The last revaluation that was conducted in Brick was in 1992. Since then, true property values in the township and throughout Ocean County have skyrocketed, according to the press release. As a result, assessed values are far below their actual value on the open real estate market.
Some areas of the community have increased in value more than others, the press release states. Thus, some areas of the community are paying more than their fair share of the community’s property taxes while other areas are paying significantly less, according to officials. The revaluation is meant to correct that imbalance, and make payment of property taxes more fair and equitable.
The township will have to hire a qualified revaluation firm for the project, which is expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million. The cost will be spread out over five years. The contract awarded for the 1992 revaluation increased the tax rate by 2 cents for five years, the business administrator said.
MacFadden said a selection process will take place to determine which firm will be hired. The Township Council will most likely award the contract by the end of the year.
The revaluation will take two years to complete and will be overseen by Millman, who will submit periodic status reports to the Board of Taxation during the process. Millman oversaw the township’s last revaluation in 1992. MacFadden said that property owners will receive a letter about the process, and the revaluation firm will attempt to inspect each home.
“The municipal-wide revaluation will raise many questions and concerns for our residents,” Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said in the press release. “In the coming weeks and throughout the course of the revaluation, we will be releasing more information to help our residents through this process.”
The Board of Taxation is responsible for ensuring that all municipalities within its jurisdiction — including Brick Township — bear their full, equal and just share of taxes. The board adopted the revaluation order on Jan. 12, but the township could not act on the order until it was approved by the state earlier this month.
Brick Township is one of nine Ocean County municipalities ordered to perform revaluations.