The Tabernacle Sun
The process of reassessing Tabernacle Township began Thursday, May 9 with a meeting at town hall. Dozens of townspeople came out to have their questions answered and concerns heard.
James Renwick addressed the crowd, explaining what a reassessment entails step by step. Renwick has served as the Tabernacle tax assessor for the last two years and is well versed in this process, recently completing reassessments for Shamong and Southampton.
The need for reassessment is due to inequities from property tax appeals.
Tabernacle was forced to pay more than $80,000 back last year from appeals won by residents.
The considerable change in the real estate market from when the last reassessment was done in 2006 is the driving force behind why the process needs to be done, officials said.
“The goal of a reassessment is to get the data correct,” Renwick explained. “Right now, it’s all over the place. We have properties assessed way under or way over what their actual value is. The only thing that is considered in a reassessment is market value. After this process, the property tax appeals will stop.”
Professional Property Appraisers, Inc., based in Delran, will be handling the reassessment. Tom Davis, president of PPA, has worked with Renwick before, doing reassessments in Bordentown and Southampton.
The actual property inspection process will begin now and run until mid-September.
Inspectors will go property-by-property touring the interior and exterior. Most inspections take about a half hour, allowing the inspector to walk around the property as well as inside the home. Pictures will be taken, but only of the exterior of the property.
To ease homeowners’ concerns about who exactly they are letting into their house, Renwick enlisted the State Police to perform background checks on those doing the assessing. Both inspectors and their vehicles passed the screening and are now registered with the state.
If residents are not home or unavailable when the inspector arrives initially, a yellow card will be left with contact information to set up an appointment at the property owner’s convenience.
If the PPA inspector is unable to tour the property before mid-September, an estimate of the home’s value will be made based on neighboring and nearby properties.
Cosmetic improvements, such as new siding or roofing, as well as finished basements or attics do weigh into what a house will be assessed at, but the most prominent factors are square footage and the lot size.
Renwick said that he would make a checklist available to the public of what inspectors are looking for when assessing a property.
After all the properties in the township are inspected, Renwick will analyze the data.
Recent property sales in Tabernacle as well as surrounding communities will be used to determine the current state of the market.
When all the data is collected and analyzed, residents will be mailed an evaluation notice of their property’s assessment some time after Nov. 10. If the owner has questions or concerns about the notice, they can set up an appointment with Renwick to discuss the assessment. Any appeals have to be filed by Jan. 10.
Renwick assured residents that the reassessment is revenue neutral and will cost the township no more than $200,000.
He understood the trepidation that comes with a reassessment, which is why he finds the meeting part of the process extremely vital.
“We want to be clear about everything that is going on and address any resident concerns,” he said.
Several residents were impressed with how informative and transparent the meeting was, complimenting both Renwick and Davis for taking the time to discuss each point of the process as well as answer every question posed to them.
For more information, contact Renwick 609 268 1220 extension 120 or at jrenwick@townshipoftabernacle-nj.gov
