Montclair Moves Toward Township-Wide Property Reassessment

Montclair inched its way closer Tuesday night to a Township-wide reassessment of property that's designed to reduce the growing number of tax appeals being filed.

Indeed, the Montclair Township Council passed a resolution at its regular meeting requesting the tax assessor to submit an application to the Essex County Board of Taxation to perform a reassessment of real estate.

Since a revaluation was last performed in 2006, the number of tax appeals filed by Montclair residents has climbed dramatically.

In 2009, for example, 830 tax appeals were filed to the county and the state. As a result of the appeals, the municipality had to fork over $1.3 million last year in overpaid taxes.

By the April deadline this year, some 1,225 tax appeals had been filed, putting the ball in motion for even heftier tax rebates for 2010.

Council members said a reassment would make the property tax scene a more equitable one and would save the Township money in the long run by cutting down on the number of tax appeals filed.

Not only do tax appeals generally result in less revenue coming in, but also the Township must now reserve $300,000 to pay for tax appeals, double what it reserved last year.

Township Attorney Alan Trembulak said that a reassessment is different from a revaluation in that reassessment work can mostly be done in-house by the tax assessor's office, although some $100,000 to $150,000 would have to be paid in legal and outside appraisal costs for a reassessment.

According to the Essex County Board of Taxation, any reassessment would have to include a review of at least 80 percent of Township properties and a revision of at least 50 percent of the properties' value.

In other news from Tuesday night's council meeting:

— The council announced that a public hearing will soon be scheduled to discuss the proposed $70 million budget that would spark a 6 percent property tax increase, a budget that at least a few council members are still not happy with. Mayor Jerry Fried agreed that no one's pleased with the tax rates in Montclair but emphasized that many costs are statutory and out of the council's control. Councilor Rich Murnick said it's imperative that the public get involved in the budget process. And Councilor Cary Africk said that because many council members were unwilling to make difficult decisions — like laying off additional people — the die has been cast.

— The council awarded a contract to Commercial Interiors Direct Inc. to replace carpeting at the Montclair Public Library at a cost of $161,530. Some 10,000 square feet of space on the library's first floor and 12,000 square feet of space on the library's second floor will be replaced. The carpet currently in place is 13 years old and so frayed that it is unsafe.