Committee to consider reassessment of properties.
By: Josh Appelbaum
The township is looking at ways to bridge the gap between tax assessments and market value to head off lawsuits by owners of commercial property.
On April 25, Cranbury’s tax assessor, Steve Benner, told the Township Committee that the disparity between the market value of properties and the value of tax assessments has grown since 1997, which could expose the township to tax appeal lawsuits by commercial property owners.
The Township Committee is considering whether to ask the county to adjust for the imbalance or whether to reassess all properties in the township. They plan to discuss the matter again at Monday’s meeting.
He said the common level ratio, an equally weighed average of new assessments for commercial, residential, vacant land and farm properties calculated over a two-year period, dropped from 72.68 percent in 1997 to 49.7 percent in 2005.
Mr. Benner said the disparity was created because each assessment category is counted equally even though new assessments for residential and commercial development outstrip that of vacant land and farms. Although the problem is very common among suburban municipalities, he said, commercial property owners are challenging the township, saying they have been overtaxed.
Mr. Benner said there has been more growth in assessed value for residential properties in Cranbury than for commercial properties. He said that when assessing commercial properties the county only averages those that are usable, or properties with high commercial value, not counting those that are unprofitable.
He said commercial property owners will continue to appeal their tax assessments unless the township addresses the imbalance.
Mr. Benner said letting the tax appeals continue could be very expensive to the township, and recommended that the township ask the county Board of Taxation to adjust assessments in order to maintain a common level ratio of 75 percent or that the township reassess all properties in Cranbury.
He said getting the county Board of Taxation to do either of these things could be a difficult proposition, because it is not legally required to adjust assessments or conduct new assessments.
Mr. Benner said he brought the issue to the Township Committee because it needs to decide how it wants him to proceed. He said he will be meeting with members of the Township Committee and the county Board of Taxation in the coming weeks on how to proceed.