The new numbers are in, and some residents in Plainsboro are fearing the worst — that a significant increase in their property valuations will result in a corresponding increase in their tax bill.##M:[more]##
But according to officials, although some residential taxpayers will see a tax increase as a result of the recently-completed township-wide property revaluation, the impacts will be nowhere near the level that their property values increased.
According to Plainsboro Tax Assessor Jean Jacobsohn, the revaluation has been completed, and the new numbers were filed with Middlesex County on February 9. “The properties are now at what we hope was their market values of as October 1, 2004.”
What those new valuations mean to taxpayers is unknown until the county sets the township’s tax rate in July. The rate will be significantly lower than last year’s rate of $3.208 per $100 because the overall value of property in the township has increased.
According to Jacobsohn, the amount of money to be raised through taxation to support the budget will be the same as if there had been no revaluation. The new values will determine the redistribution of how those taxes are paid.
With a revaluation comes a shift in the tax burden to those whose property values have risen faster than average. In Plainsboro’s case, most homeowners will pay a little more in taxes because residential values have increased in recent years while the commercial market has remained flat.
Residential values “are a good deal higher than when the last revaluation was done in 1993 and they have risen sharply in past three years,” says Jacobsohn. Over the past decade, the township has made upward adjustments on various commercial properties, but only minor changes were made to residential valuations. The revaluation will brings the commercial and residential market in line to ensure equity between all taxpayers.
According to Jacobsohn, since multi-family housing — condominiums and townhouses — have appreciated at a greater rate than other properties in the township, those homeowners will likely see the highest level of tax increase compared owners of single-family and commercial properties.
“The job of an assessor is to keep people paying based on what the market is,” Jacobsohn says. “When one type of property outperforms another, than adjustments need to be made.”
Meanwhile, West Windsor is undergoing the same process that Plainsboro went through last year and plans to have new valuations on the books for 2006.
According to Tax Assessor Steve Benner, the township is preparing to mail postcards alerting residents in certain neighborhoods that will be visited by representatives of the company conducting the revaluation, Certified Valuations of Randolph.
Residents can expect a visit within 10 days of receipt of the postcard. “The representative will have identification and will be bringing a field card with them to utilize during the inspection process to verify information,” Benner says.
The inspections are expected to be conducted through the early fall. Property owners will then be notified of their proposed new assessment and times will be scheduled for individual property owners to review their assessments.
According to Benner, state law requires that the new valuations be set and sent to Mercer County by January 10, 2006.
