The Marlboro Township Council has introduced an ordinance to authorize a special emergency appropriation of funds that will be used to pay a firm to conduct a revaluation of all properties in Marlboro.
The ordinance is expected to have a public hearing, second reading and vote for adoption at the council’s Feb. 21 meeting.
The revaluation of every property in Marlboro was ordered to be undertaken by the Monmouth County Board of Taxation in 2004, but has never occurred. The previous revaluation of the township was conducted in 1992.
The revaluation will result in every property being assessed at its current market value. The assessment of each parcel is used to determine the amount of taxes each property owner pays in municipal taxes, Marlboro school taxes, Freehold Regional High School District school taxes, Monmouth County taxes and other assessments.
Funding for the revaluation has not been established in Marlboro’s current budget, according to the ordinance. The estimate for the work is $1 million. The ordinance states that local budget law provides that a municipality may adopt such an ordinance authorizing special emergency appropriations for carrying out a complete revaluation. Councilman Frank LaRocca requested that the council members be provided with the proposal for the revaluation so they will be able to verify that $1 million is correct.
“I tend to think, just from general knowledge, that this is probably the right number, but I still want to see it before I vote,” LaRocca said.
Business Administrator Alayne Shepler said she would provide the paperwork to council. A bid for the revaluation work has not been awarded yet.
As a result of the revaluation, some property owners will see their total property tax bill increase, some property owners will see their total property tax bill decrease, and some property owners will pay about the same amount they are presently paying.
Mayor Jonathan Hornik noted that the revaluation is a court order and said the township must address the issue. Most of the other municipalities in western Monmouth County have undergone a revaluation within the past few years or are presently undergoing a revaluation.
There were some concerns expressed about the current real estate market and how that will affect the revaluation.
Chief Financial OfficerAl Steinberg and TownshipAttorney JonathanWilliams suggested that the ordinance to pay for the revaluation be introduced that evening and said the matters concerning the real estate market could be looked into before its adoption.
The council then voted to introduce the revaluation funding ordinance.
In other business, Marlboro can now have three deputy mayors after the council adopted an amended ordinance. This third deputymayorwill serve as a designee for occasions when the mayor cannot be present. Marlboro already has two deputy mayors, Larry Rosen and Huimin Shen. None of the deputy mayor positions is paid.
And, an ordinancewas introducedwhich would, if adopted, amend the regulations that govern Marlboro’s municipal access cable television channel 77 and permit the station to broadcast regular or special public meetings of the Township Council. The ordinance is expected to have a public hearing, second reading and a vote on Feb. 21.
A resolution was also passed to appoint attorney Harry Haushalter as the special tax appeal counsel for Marlboro. Haushalter will be compensated at an hourly rate of $135 for legal services and $80 for paralegal services. There are funds available for this purpose in the 2008 municipal budget, according to the resolution.