Big changes are quickly approaching for every single property owner in Monmouth County.  Earlier this year, Governor Christie signed into law Senate Bill-1213 and Assembly-1591 (the “Act”) which taken together creates an “Assessment Demonstration Program” that will substantially change the property tax assessment and appeal process in New Jersey. The program modifies the timing of the appeal season and filing requirements so that assessment disputes are more likely to be settled prior to the filing of the final assessment list with the County Board of Taxation. The law proposed a ‘trial’ period for participating counties to allow for an alternative approach to the traditional assessment and appeal system practiced throughout the state. The goals of the Act are to achieve a more cost-effective and accurate property tax administration process. Monmouth County will be the first county to implement the Assessment Demonstration Program starting this year, 2013, to be effective for the 2014 tax year.   By all accounts, Monmouth County is the standard bearer for the implementation of the new pilot program.

For Monmouth County and any other counties taking part in the pilot program, the law revises the relevant statutory dates for the assessment real property and for appealing those assessments, in the following ways:

• Notification of Assessment postcards must be sent by the municipality to property owners by November 15 of the pretax year, as opposed to the current deadline of February 1 of the tax year;
• Appeals of assessments to the county tax board must be filed by January 15 of the tax year, instead of the current April 1st deadline;
• If a municipality has undergone a municipal wide reassessment, Appeals of assessments to the county tax board must be filed by February 15 of the tax year, instead of the current May 1st deadline
• The deadline for filing appeals of assessments that exceed $1 million made directly to the Tax Court remains April 1 of the tax year.

The Act also grants a county tax board the power to compel a municipality within to implement a revaluation or reassessment of all real property within the municipality. If the municipality fails to complete the compelled revaluation or reassessment in a timely manner, the county tax board may contract for the revaluation or reassessment at the municipality’s cost. 

It is important to note that property taxes and the tax rate are the result of the local budget process and may not be appealed. It is the municipality’s assessment on your property that is subject to appeal. A taxpayer considering an appeal should understand that they must prove their assessed value is unreasonable compared to actual market value of their property. By law, the municipality’s assessment is presumed to be correct. To be successful, this presumption of correctness must be overcome in order to achieve an assessment change.   

If you believe your property is over-assessed, you should act immediately to determine whether the assessment set by the municipality is the actual full and fair market value of your property. Please contact our office for a free consultation regarding your property’s value, an assessment of the chances for a successful appeal and the potential costs versus savings in conducting such an appeal.