MONROE: The revaluation inspectors arriving in Monroe

David Kilby, Managing Editor
   MONROE — Property inspectors began assessing Monroe’s residential properties at the beginning of the month as the township revaluation project gets under way.
   The revaluation company, Realty Appraisal, provides updates on its current projects on its website, www.realtyappraisal.net.
   According to those updates, as of March 1, the company has begun residential inspections.
   Over the past several months, there have been constant revisions of the tax maps, and they were not completed at the time inspections begun, said Wayne Hamilton, township business administrator.
   ”We were given permission to begin the inspections even though the tax maps were not 100 percent finalized,” he said.
   The township will pay about $400,000 per year over a five-year period, for a total of $1,195,265, for the tax revaluation; $779,735 less than the $1,975,000 the township originally appropriated for the project in January 2011.
   Founded in 1934, Realty Appraisal has completed more than 400 revaluation programs since 1951, according to the company’s website. The company is re-evaluating Monroe along with Jersey City, Piscataway, Carlsdadt, Little Silver, Montclair and South Orange.
   In 2007, the state ordered Monroe to do a revaluation because Monroe properties were assessed at only about 53 percent of their actual market value, said Rich Rafanello, township attorney.
   The state court ordered a revaluation to be finished by January 2012, but the township later was granted a one-year extension, Mr. Rafanello said. Thus, the township now has until January 2013 to revaluate its 21,338 properties.
   The company, which has its corporate offices in West New York and a satellite office on Rossmoor Drive in Monroe, plans to complete the revaluation by the end of the year, said Steve Rubenstein, an appraiser for the company.
   ”We just started the inspection process so we have a ways to go,” he said.
   He said when inspectors come to a house, they will measure the outside of the dwelling for about five minutes, then spend two to five minutes inside the dwelling looking at any improvements or disrepair there.
   ”If disrepair is temporary, it wouldn’t affect the value, but if it’s longstanding, it would,” he said. “If a homeowner asks to come back at a specific time, we’ll make an appointment. We have to evaluate it one way or another, but they have the right to refuse us entry. (However) it’s very unlikely that the evaluation would be on the low side if we’re not allowed on the property.”
   Mr. Rubenstein said the most unique aspect of Monroe is its high percentage of retirement communities, but added the company has done other towns with many retirement communities, like Lakewood.
   A lawsuit issued by plaintiffs in the township made the case successfully that they were being discriminated against because their tax assessments were higher than they should be, Mr. Rubenstein said while explaining the origins of this revaluation.
   The residents who filed suit in 2007 — John Keane, of Country Club Drive; Gerald Krzyzkowski, of Glen Eagles Way; Norman Rubenstein, of Orleans Road; and Frank Giubileo, of Valencia Drive — represented the Concerned Citizens of Monroe. They alleged they were being charged approximately 70 percent more in property taxes than owners of comparable houses in the township’s older communities.
   The lawsuit also alleged approximately 300 sales were inappropriately excluded from Monroe’s tax assessment calculations.
   ”I’m not arguing either way, but this revaluation project was started by a lawsuit,” Mr. Rubenstein said.
   If the revaluation is complete at the end of the year, the new values would take effect Jan. 1, 2013, but property owners wouldn’t see the new values reflected on their tax bills until the third quarter, which would begin in July. The first and second tax bills of 2013 would be based on the 2012 tax rate.
   ”Any over or underpayment will be adjusted in the July tax bill,” Mr. Rubenstein said.
   According to the township website, www.monroetwp.com, there are a few property tax deductions available to property owners who are residents of New Jersey:
   There is a veterans deduction for those who served within specified date ranges as set forth by the state.
   There is a deduction for the spouse of a deceased veteran who was a resident of New Jersey at the time of death.
   There is a senior citizen deduction for those over 65 with an income of not more than $10,000, not including social security.
   And there is a disability deduction for those with a total and permanent disability whose income is not more than $10,000, not including social security.
   Applications for these deductions can be obtained in the tax assessor’s office, 1 Municipal Plaza, Monroe.