HOWELL — A representative of the firm that is performing a reassessment of about 20,000 taxable properties in Howell has finished preliminary assessments.
Neil Rubenstein of Realty Appraisal Company told the Howell Township Council that hearings are ongoing for residents who have questions regarding their property’s new assessment.
Rubenstein updated the council at its Feb. 7 meeting and said he expected the hearings to continue for at least another week.
The Monmouth County Board of Taxation ordered the reassessment of all properties in the municipality due to the declining real estate market, he said.
“It was necessary for our company to come in and redistribute the playing field, bring everybody back to where all the assessments are basically defendable,” Rubenstein told the members of the governing body.
Realty Appraisal Company performed a revaluation of all properties in Howell in 2006 when the real estate market was rising. Rubenstein said municipalities do not benefit financially from the revaluation.
“Arevaluation or assessment is tax neutral,” he said. “There is not an additional penny gained [in the total tax levy collected by the municipality] by changing the assessment [of all the properties]. All the revaluation or assessment does is redistribute or change the way the ratables are billed, but there is an equilibrium. The budget for the town determines whether taxes go up or down,” he added.
Because the reassessed values represent Realty Appraisal Company’s preliminary findings, a new assessed value for the “average” home in Howell has not yet been determined, according to Greg Hutchinson, township tax assessor.
The assessed value of Howell’s “average” home will be determined after the county certifies the values once the hearings are completed, Hutchinson said.
“This is the best opportunity for taxpayers to meet up with the reassessment firm to let them know if there is something they missed” in determining the new assessed value of a property, Hutchinson said. “If something is brought to their attention that they maybe missed the first time around, then that’s a good opportunity to bring that to our attention.”
Following the previous revaluation, a residence that was considered to be an average home in Howell was assessed at $355,000.
In 2011, municipal officials said the assessment of an average home in Howell had dropped $5,000 to $350,000.
Howell’s total tax rate for 2011 is about $2.17 per $100 of assessed valuation. The total tax rate can vary slightly depending on the fire district in which an individual resides.
Using an approximate total tax rate of $2.17 per $100, the owner of a home that is assessed at the township average of $350,000 is currently paying about $7,595 in property taxes.
That total amount includes taxes paid to Howell Township, Monmouth County, the Howell K-8 School District, the Freehold Regional High School District, a fire district and several other taxing entities.
Mayor Robert Walsh noted that a new total tax rate will not be determined until the 2012 operating budgets for the aforementioned entities are certified.
Township Manager Helene Schlegel said she hopes to introduce the 2012 municipal budget on March 6 to coincide with Gov. Chris Christie’s desired budget schedule. Schlegel said the aim is to adopt the budget by April 20.