Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Hopewell Borough property owners have been given an extra five days to pay the property tax bill that was due Aug. 1.
The new due date is Aug. 15, which is a five-day extension of the standard 10-day grace period. It is being extended because the 2017-18 tax bills were delayed in being mailed.
The bills were late because of a delay in the adoption of the state budget and because of changes in state aid to the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
The owner of a house assessed at the Hopewell Borough average of $403,995 will pay $11,109 in property taxes, based on a tax rate of $2.75 per $100 of assessed value. This does not include the 7-cent fire district tax, which adds $282 to the tax bill.
Breaking down the tax bill, the total municipal property tax rate is 60 cents per $100 of assessed value. This includes the municipal library tax and the municipal open space tax.
The school district property tax is $153 per $100 of assessed value, and the Mercer County property tax is 59 cents. The Mercer County open space tax is 2 cents.
Overall, the Hopewell Borough municipal tax accounts for 22 percent of the property tax bill – excluding the fire district tax.
Mercer County’s share of the tax bill is 22 percent, and the school district tax makes up 56 percent of the tax bill.
When the municipal, county and school district taxes are combined, the bill is $11,109. The fire district tax is an additional $282.
Although property owners make their checks payable to Hopewell Borough, the town does not keep all of the money. It distributes what is due to the county and the school district first, and then to itself.
