Lawrence, Trenton clash over border

The township and Trenton disagree over a boundary between the two municipalities and how to tax the affected properties.

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
It’s not exactly the Mason-Dixon Line, but a jagged line on Lawrence Township’s tax maps has led to a disagreement between Trenton and Lawrence over the boundary between the two municipalities.
   The result is that for at least five properties on the Lawrence-Trenton border, property owners pay taxes to Lawrence and Trenton based on the percentage of the properties that lie within each community’s boundaries.
   Lawrence officials claim the properties should be taxed only by Lawrence, based on a 77-year-old agreement between the tax assessors for the two municipalities.
   The original municipal boundary was a straight line that bisected properties, which meant that a portion of the property was taxed by Trenton and Lawrence. But in 1928, according to Lawrence officials, the tax assessors for the two municipalities agreed to move the municipal boundary line so that it followed the property lines.
   The boundary line that is based on the 1928 agreement — which township officials have been unable to find — is reflected on Lawrence’s tax maps, but not on Trenton’s tax maps. The city updated its tax maps in January, according to Trenton Tax Assessor Patricia Hice.
   Ms. Hice said that she and Lawrence Tax Assessor Geoffrey Acolia met with Mercer County Tax Administrator Martin Guhl on Tuesday to work out a resolution to the boundary dispute.
   At stake is $19,715.28 in property taxes paid to Lawrence, and $18,209.10 that was paid to Trenton for 2005.
   Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said Lawrence wants the two municipalities to abide by the 1928 line. The handful of properties affected by the border dispute are assessed by both towns and owners pay property taxes to Trenton and Lawrence.
   "When Trenton redid their tax maps, the new ones did not include the jagged border," Mr. Krawczun said. "The Trenton tax assessor began to assess the (affected) properties in Trenton. We want to go back to the 1928 line."
   But Trenton Tax Collector Edward Kirkendoll said his records show that as far back as 1992, Trenton has taxed portions of the five properties in question. Those properties are located 1408 Ohio Avenue, 705 Pear St., a vacant parcel on the corner of Brunswick Pike and Strawberry Street, a property owned by DSC of Newark on Enterprise Avenue, and a property owned by TTN Bus on Pear Street.
   Mr. Kirkendoll and Ms. Hice said it is not unusual for a property to be bisected by municipal borders. Mr. Kirkendoll said there is a similar situation on the Trenton-Ewing border, where a portion of a property is located in the city for tax purposes and a portion is located in the township.
   "It was never anyone’s intention to ‘double-assess’ a property," Ms. Hice said of the present dispute involving Lawrence and Trenton.
   The boundary issue came to light after a builder made some preliminary inquiries regarding land on Pear Street, near the Trenton-Lawrence border, Mr. Krawczun said. Trenton officials brought out their tax maps and told the builder to ignore the jagged lines in favor of the straight line that city officials claim is the boundary — disregarding the 77-year-old agreement, he said.
   The builder, who Mr. Krawczun declined to name, realized that Trenton was claiming the properties for the city. The builder contacted the township’s tax assessor, Mr. Acolia, who brought the issue to Mr. Krawczun’s attention.
   Mr. Krawczun said the issue has to be resolved because property owners need to know if they are located in Trenton or Lawrence. It is not just a matter of which town receives property taxes, he said. It affects the schools that children attend, as well as which police department, fire department or emergency medical service responds to a call for help, he said.
   While the two tax assessors are attempting to work out a solution with the Mercer County tax administrator, Lawrence Township Municipal Attorney Kevin Nerwinski said he had turned over information he had gathered to Trenton’s legal department about two weeks ago and he is waiting to hear from the city’s in-house lawyers.
   "How they respond dictates what we will do next," Mr. Nerwinski said, adding he expects the city to respond by the middle of January. He said the township is taking a "wait and see" approach to the issue.
   If Trenton and Lawrence cannot resolve the matter amicably, Mr. Nerwinski said, the township may apply to Mercer County State Superior Court to appoint a three-member panel to review the issue.