Hightstown council approves one-year delay in revaluation

By: Vic Monaco
   HIGHTSTOWN — The Borough Council has approved a one-year delay in the county-mandated tax revaluation, meaning new assessments won’t likely go into effect until 2009.
   The council approved a resolution Monday saying the action is needed because of a delay in the state’s approval of the borough’s contract with Vital Resources Inc., of Trenton.
   As reported in the May 25 edition of the Herald, Vital Resources recently contacted the Mercer County Board of Taxation saying it doubted it could get its work done by the county implementation deadline of 2008 because its contract had not been OK’d by the state. County Tax Administrator Martin Guhl said at that time that the county Board of Taxation would likely grant a one-year extension if the borough and company agreed to it.
   The delay with state approval, Mr. Guhl had said, was due in part to the borough having difficulties in getting its tax maps approved by the state, an action that has taken place.
   The county ordered the revaluations of the borough and East Windsor in May of last year. The last revaluation in Hightstown was performed in 1992 and the average assessment had fallen to about 44 percent of market value by last year. In East Windsor, the last revaluation took place in 1989, with a smaller, in-house reassessment done in 1991, and assessments were below 50 percent of market value at the time of the county mandate.
   The borough’s contract with Vital Resources totaled $130,000 and another $15,000 was spent to update the local tax maps. East Windsor’s revaluation contract is for $550,000 and it recently spent $6,000 on its maps.
   Mr. Guhl has expressed concern with the need for a similar one-year delay in East Windsor but township Tax Assessor Rich Kline has said he expects the revaluation there to be done for 2008.
   Revaluations shift tax burdens, with some property owners paying more taxes, others less and the remainder paying the same. A general rule of thumb is that taxes rise for one-third of property owners, go down for another third and stay the same for another third. The ages of homes are a significant factor.
   In other business Monday, the council introduced a bond ordinance to add $100,000 to a 2004 ordinance totaling $450,000 for the Mercer Street Revitalization Project. Of the new money, $60,000 would come from a state grant while $38,000 in bonds or notes would be issued. A hearing on the ordinance is expected June 18.
   The upcoming work comprises new sidewalks and curbs on Mercer Street from Rogers Avenue to South Academy Street along with street lights, benches and trash receptacles. Also included is a historical fountain at The Point — where Main, South Main and Mercer streets meet – to be funded with the grant.
   The council approved an ordinance Monday to enter into the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s leasing program to fund the previously approved purchase of three police vehicles for $87,750. That amount will be paid back at low-interest rates over three years. The program allowed the borough to cut its 2007 payment of about $32,000 by about half, according to Chief Financial Officer George Lang.
   The council also OK’d a $5,401 payment to Caldwell Marine International for its diving and repair work of a flood gate at the Peddie Lake dam following an April storm.