By Andrew Martins
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – Borough officials are still seeking answers as to why Allentown’s property owners will face a $530 increase in school taxes beginning in August.
Out of more than a dozen property sales that occurred in Allentown between Jan. 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015, state taxation officials used three home sales to come up with a net equalized value for the borough. That calculation moved Allentown’s share (apportionment rate) of the Upper Freehold Regional School District’s total 2016-17 tax levy from 13.04 percent to 14.26 percent, translating to an increase of about $530 in a property owner’s school taxes, effective with the August tax bill, borough officials have said.
Since the situation came to their attention in mid-April, Allentown officials have been working to find a solution.
In one of the latest developments, Councilwoman Madeline Gavin, Councilwoman Johnna Stinemire, Mayor Greg Westfall, state Assemblyman Ron Dancer and state Assemblyman Rob Clifton met with state Department of Treasury officials on May 20, according to the municipal clerk.
Allentown’s representatives reviewed the assessment methodology used to compute the school tax apportionment rate for the borough for the Upper Freehold Regional School District tax levy. Based on what the officials said were documented errors in the assessment methodology used, a request was made for a waiver of the current apportionment rate. There was no commitment from the Treasury Department on a waiver, according to the municipal clerk.
During the May 24 council meeting, Westfall said, “The troubling part of all this is that we were originally told by the state Division of Taxation that they used a two-year sampling period. We learned (on May 20) that they were actually using a one-year period. Still, that one year would have been better than the six-month period they used.”
Resident Thomas Fritts called the $530 increase in school taxes an “entirely unacceptable” burden for Allentown residents. Fritts said he was not certain if the problem originated in Allentown or at the state level.
“I feel like there is clear negligence,” Fritts said. “If I had lost [hundreds of thousands of] dollars for my company, I would not have a job today. I don’t think anybody in this room would have a job, unless maybe they worked for the government.”
Westfall said he agreed with Fritts and he added that the meeting he and several council members had with state taxation officials did not ease his concerns about the pending increase in school taxes. He said an internal investigation regarding the matter is underway.
“I get the sense there is culpability all the way up. If it happened here, there is a review being done,” the mayor said.
The Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education has adopted a $41.07 million budget for the 2016-17 school year, according to district administrators. The budget will be supported by the collection of $25.19 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in Upper Freehold Township ($21.6 million) and Allentown ($3.59 million).