T.F. begins long journey toward revaluation
Process expected
to conclude by November
BY LINDA DENICOLA
Staff Writer

The county-mandated revaluation process is about to begin in Tinton Falls. Last week, residents should have received their preliminary revaluation notices in the mail.

The letter details the process for the property inspectors who will come to each of the more than 6,000 homes in Tinton Falls. They will measure and take photos in order to collect the data necessary for the evaluation.

Council President Brendan Tobin said the firm the borough hired, Realty Appraisal Co. of West New York, has inspectors with proper identification, but if anyone questions the authenticity of the person at the door, they should call borough hall at (732) 542-3400, to check the name of the inspector.

"All inspectors' names have been provided to the borough and the police department has them for background checks and to properly identify them. The inspectors will work during daylight hours, including weekends," he said.

Tobin explained that the information residents are receiving now is the first step in the process. After each home is visited and inspected, the data is compiled and the company then puts all of that data into a computer program.

"This is the first time this has happened in Tinton Falls in nearly 20 years, so there is a lot of data to gather. Then, that data is assessed against realty fair market values as of Oct. 1, 2007. The revals go out to homes after that, and the process should conclude by November for all of this to be ready to go for tax year 2008," Tobin said.

Some residents will see an increase in property taxes, others will experience a decrease, but for the majority of residents, the township-wide revaluation program should be closer to a wash.

Neil Rubenstein, of Realty Appraisal Co., said at the Feb. 7 Borough Council meeting that 60 percent of valuations will stay within $100 or $200 of where they are now.

He said that his company has done the past three revaluations in Tinton Falls.

He explained that the inspections will include both interior and exterior and noted that with 6,000 homes and 300 commercial properties in the borough, it will take between six to 10 months to complete the inspections.

Rubenstein noted that the town does not gain tax revenue from an assessment. It is designed to create a level playing field between newly built housing that is assessed at higher levels and older properties that have not been reassessed since the last revaluation 16 years ago.

Once all the appraisals are complete, a second letter will go out to each property owner with their new assessments and instructions on how to contest the assessment.

He added that inspectors will try three times to gain access to a property, but if that fails, the property owner will receive a higher assessment.

At a special meeting last spring, the Borough Council unanimously approved a $500,000 bond ordinance, starting the revaluation process, and the property revaluation contract was awarded to the Realty Appraisal Co. for $480,000.

Last May, during the public hearing on the 2006 municipal budget, many residents from the Willowbrook development on Swimming River Road urged the council to expedite the revaluation process in order to create fairness.

Built in 2002, the 110 homes in the development are assessed at closer to market value than older homes in the town.

Borough Attorney James Berube Jr., said at the time that Willowbrook may be closer to fair market value than other houses in town, but a revaluation is triggered by rising property values and deviation in the ratio of fair market value.

Chief Financial Director Stephen Pfeffer explained that the borough needs to collect $9.5 million in taxes and after the revaluation, it would still need to collect the same amount so the people in newer homes would be the least impacted.