By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township Council introduced a bond ordinance for $800,000 Tuesday night to pay for the township-wide property revaluation, which is set to take place next year.
The money is deemed to be a “special emergency appropriation” and may be repaid over five years, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun told the council. State law allows for the five-year payback because the Mercer County Board of Taxation ordered the revaluation, he said.
Mr. Krawczun said a contract would be awarded to an appraisal firm to conduct a revaluation of all residential and non-residential properties. A separate contract would be awarded to an appraiser to review the Quaker Bridge Mall and the four anchor stores. The mall property is owned by one corporation, but the anchors Sears Roebuck, J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor each own their properties.
The bond ordinance, which will be subject to a public hearing by Township Council next month, also includes money to pay for “appeal work” if the appraisal company has to represent the township before the Mercer County Board of Taxation, after the new values are in place in 2014, he said.
Five revaluation and appraisal firms submitted bids last week in their quest to take on the task of the township-wide property revaluation in 2013. The bids, which were opened in public, ranged from a high bid of $1,020,000 to a low bid of $729,780.
The next step is to review the bids for compliance with the bid specifications, or requirements, prepared by Lawrence Township, Mr. Krawczun said. A contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, which is not necessarily the lowest bidder, he said.
Township Council will award a contract to the lowest responsible bidder the one who has met all of the requirements in the bid specifications next month.
Once a contract has been awarded, the revaluation firm will conduct several public meetings to explain the revaluation process and how it works, Mr. Krawczun said. Residents will learn what to expect during the revaluation process.
State law requires all properties to be assessed at 100 percent of fair market value. But when the ratio of assessed value to fair market value falls below 70 percent, a municipality may be ordered to conduct a revaluation.
Between 2007 and 2010, when the Mercer County Board of Taxation ordered the revaluation, the ratio in Lawrence had ranged from 53.15 percent in 2007 to 48.76 in 2010. The ratio was 50.77 in 2011 and it is 49.2 for 2012.
The new assessments will take effect in 2014. It is important for property owners to realize that the 2014 municipal property tax rate will be adjusted downward to account for the new values. Property owners should not apply the 2013 municipal tax rate to the 2014 assessments, Mr. Krawczun said.

