By Christina Whittington, Special Writer
HIGHTSTOWN — Borough residents can expect to have their properties reassessed before the end of the year.
At the Sept. 18 Borough Council meeting, members passed Resolution 2012-227 in a 5-1 vote which authorized the municipality to enter into an agreement with tax assessor Ken Pacera to complete a reassessment on Hightstown’s properties.
”Our tax assessor, Mr. Pacera, went out to the county to request that he be allowed to do the reassessment himself without having a third party company come in to save us somewhere between $60,000 to $100,000,” Hightstown Mayor Steven Kirson said.
Mr. Pacera is Hightstown’s tax assessor.
Mercer County and the state approved Hightstown’s request.
”The reassessment is being added to Mr. Pacera’s job description. His salary is being increased (by) $4,000 a year starting in 2013 in order to compensate him for these additional duties,” Business Administrator Michael Theokas told the Herald on Sept. 19.
”The assessment is starting now and will be complete by the end of this year,” Mr. Theokas said.
According to Mr. Theokas, as per the borough’s request of the county and state, Mr. Pacera will not have to physically visit residents to complete this task.
Mayor Kirson indicated that newly assessed rates would become effective Jan. 1, 2013.
”Hightstown — along with probably every other municipality in New Jersey — has been suffering from continual tax appeals without being able to defend (itself),” Mayor Kirson said.
The mayor continued, “The last time we did (a) revaluation, a few years ago, property values were high.”
Mr. Theokas said that a full revaluation of borough properties was completed in 2008.
Mayor Kirson said that the people who have come forward to file tax appeals have been 100 percent victorious. In 2012, the effect of those appeals created a $60,000 loss in revenue to Hightstown.
”So, what happens is these folks, who appeal, get a municipal tax break — but the borough still needs these dollars to operate. The $60,000 that was given back to those few (residents), who appealed . . . (that cost) gets spread upon the remaining homeowners in the borough,” Mayor Kirson said.
”For those who appealed in the last two years, they are going to have to come back and pay their fair share along with their neighbors,” Mayor Kirson said.
According to Mayor Kirson, per 11 homes with an assessed value of $300,000, if one of those homeowners filed an appeal and received a $1,000 tax reduction, the remaining 10 homeowners would be paying $100 more the following year in taxes.
”Ten (households) find themselves paying additional taxes to support that $1,000 deduction,” Mayor Kirson said.
Councilwoman Gail Doran voiced her support of the reassessment measure.
”This is an effort to take something we did fairly recently but in a very volatile economic situation,” Ms. Doran said.
Mayor Kirson said, “Assuming that we do not have a continual decrease in market value in the next few years, hopefully we will put this problem to rest for quite a few years. And then that will not be an issue that will effect our budget in the process.”
Councilman Robert Thibault voted no to the resolution.
”I am going to vote no because I do not like the way it was negotiated. I don’t have a problem with the reassessment — it is going to save money — but we just accepted the first offer that was submitted,” Mr. Thibault said.
The next Borough Council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

