Property Assessment Cards Sent In Westfield. Where Did You Land?

WESTFIELD, NJ - The revaluation of properties in Westfield continues rolling along as property assessment postcards were mailed earlier this week.

The postcards reflect the updated assessments from the recent revaluation process. The County has certified the assessments, and the updated detailed information for each property to be available online in the coming weeks.

According to the New Jersey State Legislature Office of Legislative Services, a revaluation is a periodic process that seeks to align property assessments for property tax purposes with current fair market values. A revaluation program seeks to spread the tax burden equitably within a municipality. Real property must be assessed at the same standard of value to ensure that every property owner is paying his or her fair share of the property tax.

For example, two properties having essentially the same market value should be:

• paying essentially the same amount in property taxes.
• Inequitable assessments result from the following situations:
• changes is characteristics in areas or neighborhoods within the municipality and within individual properties;
• fluctuations in the economy (inflation, recession);
• changes in style and custom (desirability of architecture, size of house);
• changes in zoning which can either enhance or adversely effect value;
• delays in processing building permits which delay tax assessments on
• new construction.

Neil Rubenstein, a partner with Realty Appraisal Company, noted that the process is revenue neutral, meaning there is not one extra dollar collected in taxation.

"It is just rebalancing the pie," he said, noting that the inspector that has been coming into people's homes does not do the appraisal. That person just collects the data.

Rubenstein also addressed the concern he has heard about in town: taxes.

"We don't know the impact of the revaluation. After 35 years in a municipality, in any municipality, many things can change. Neighborhoods can shift, areas can increase in value faster than others, properties could have had successful tax appeals so there is going to be quite a rebalancing of the tax burden," Rubenstein said. "It is our job, with the aid of the tax assessor's office, to understand what is going on right now in the real estate market in Westfield. Not three years ago or two years ago, but the most current sales that are occurring to use those sales to develop the residential appraisals on all properties."

According to Rubenstein, the impact won't be seen until the tax bill that comes out in the summer of 2019. So even though the date of value for all properties in Westfield is Oct. 1 2018, it won't be seen until the tax bill the following year in 2019.

The numbers assembled thus far show:

ESTIMATED 2019 TAX RATE

2018 Tax Rate: $9.297
Adjustment to Ratable Base: 4.419 (from $1,866,530,500 to $8,247,768,600)
Estimated 2019 Tax Rate: $2.104

PROFILE OF AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

2018 Assessed Value: $181,931
2018 Tax Rate: $9.297
Average 2018 Residential Taxes: $16,914.08

2019 Assessed Value: $795,159
2019 Tax Rate: $2.104
Average 2019 Residential Taxes: $16,730.14

Average Residential Taxes 2019 vs 2018: -$183.94

With the estimated tax rate, 3,950 residential properties are expected to increase in taxes and 5,246 are expected to decrease.

The average decrease is expected to be $1,724.
The average increase is expected to be $1,768.

HEARING APPOINTMENTS

• 1,654 property owners made appointments for the informal hearings.
• 482 either did not attend or did not request follow up after the hearing.
• Of the 1,172 hearings requesting follow-up, assessments were adjusted as follows:
• 1,058 reductions (many due to interior inspections of properties that did not have an initial inspection)
• 10 increases
• 104 no change

Rubenstein said there are common misconceptions about the revaluation.

"A lot of people think a revaluation is to raise taxes. That is not the case," Rubenstein said. "Revaluation redistributes the tax burden. There will be a certain percentage that sees an increase a certain percentage that sees a decrease and certainly a percentage that stays around the same."

The timeline, with deadlines is as follows:

• Mid January through mid February: Property valuation letters mailed and informal hearing process open for appointments (www.realtyappraisal.net/hearings)
• Late February/early March: Town Tax Assessor certifies the tax records with the County; all updated assessments are publicly available
• Early March: Appeals process begins at County level (http://ucnj.org/taxation-board/tax-appeal-forms-and-guidelines/)
• May 1: Deadline to file an appeal with the County Tax Board
• June: Town establishes estimated tax rate as it awaits the certified rates from the State and County
• Late June: Town mails estimated property tax bills, due on August 1
• June/July: Municipal tax rate is certified following the State and County tax rates
• September: Town mails final property tax bills by September 30, after receiving the final tax rate certification from the State and County

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