By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
With a township-wide property revaluation looming, Lawrence Township officials are preparing to hold a series of meetings, beginning Jan. 24, to explain the need for the revaluation and how it will work.
Township officials plan to hold five community meetings over the next five weeks to meet with residents, beginning with a presentation at the Lawrence High School Commons Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun and other township officials will be on hand.
The second meeting is set for Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Lawrenceville Fire Co. on Gordon Avenue, which will be followed by another session Feb. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Senior Center on Darrah Lane.
A fourth meeting will be held Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Slackwood Fire Co. on Slack Avenue. The final meeting is set for Feb. 25 is set for 7 p.m. at the Dempster Fire Training School on Lawrence Station Road.
Lawrence Township was ordered to conduct a township-wide property revaluation by the Mercer County Board of Taxation in 2010 the first revaluation since 1994. State law requires all properties to be assessed at 100 percent of fair market value, which is defined as the price a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller.
When the ratio of assessed value to fair market value falls below 70 percent, a municipality may be ordered to conduct a revaluation. Lawrence’s ratio has ranged from 53.15 percent in 2007 to the current 50.96 percent.
Township Council awarded a $729,780 contract to Professional Property Appraisers Inc. of Delran in September, which was the lowest responsible bidder from among the five revaluation firms that submitted bids. The bids ranged from as high as $1.02 million to $729,780.
The revaluation company will send representatives into the field to examine every property in Lawrence in the next few months. The new assessments will take effect in 2014.

