South Brunswick, Woodbridge and East Brunswick Overdue in Property Tax Reval

Woodbridge, NJ - On Wednesday, we reported that the borough of South River is being forced by the state to conduct a property tax revaluation, something the town has not had for 30 years. Taxes will likely go up for some South River homeowners after the reval is completed.

But South River is not the only Middlesex County town where property taxes don't match the current market value of real estate. The state Division of Treasury provided Patch with the following list of all the Middlesex County towns that are delinquent — and East Brunswick, Woodbridge and South Brunswick are on it.

East Brunswick Township has not had a property reval since 1983. Woodbridge has not had one since 1986. And South Brunswick Township has not had a reval since 1974. A spokesman for the New Jersey Treasury Dept. refused to answer if investigations would be launched into these towns, or when. But all three of these towns are on the state's radar.

In New Jersey, towns are required by state law to do a property tax revaluation every 10 years, so the tax burden of homes comes close to their market value. In 2015, for example, the taxable assessed value of homes in East Brunswick was $1.8 billion. In reality, the market value of homes in East Brunswick is $7 billion, the state says. In Woodbridge, the assessed value was $3 billion. In reality, it's closer to $11 billion.

A list of all 35 towns in the state that are the most delinquent can be found here. A Director's Ratio is the relationship between the assessed value and the true value of all property. A ratio that is lower than 85% is considered not in compliance with the New Jersey state Constitution.

The state investigated South River earlier this summer and on Tuesday announced it must do a reval, despite protests from residents and the mayor, John Krenzel. Like South River, Dunellen has already been ordered to undergo a forced reval, and the city of New Brunswick, also delinquent, voluntarily agreed to do a reval there, Treasury spokesman Joe Perone said.

And the state had some scathing words for the Middlesex County Tax Board, which, by law, is supposed to initiate the revals.

"The purpose of a revaluation is to distribute the property tax burden equitably among all property owners within a municipality according to the true value of their property," Perone has said. "Middlesex is the only county in the state that has not ordered an involuntary revaluation in two decades. Members of the Middlesex County Board have a responsibility to recommend revaluations, where warranted. Instead, they ignored the mandates of the State Constitution."

Nobody at the Middlsex County Tax Board was available to speak to Patch Thursday morning when we called there.

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