Property Tax Reassessment Sparks Complaints in Toms River

Several residents who found themselves on the losing end of a recent tax reassessment in Toms River vented – but found no immediate relief – at a township council meeting Tuesday night.

Tax rates based on the reassessment went into effect as of the most recent tax bill, sent out Aug. 1.

Most homeowners township-wide – 62 percent – found their property tax burden remained the same as in previous cycles or went down. But for the remaining 38 percent, the increased liability often came as a shock, especially since in many cases the value of their homes actually decreased.

"My assessment went down 18 percent, but my taxes went up more than 20 percent," said Ron Gleinig, who said his house's $510,000 assessment dropped to $425,000.

The reason Gleinig's taxes increased despite the drop? The value of his home didn't drop enough, officials said.

"If your home didn't go down in value by 22 percent, you saw an increase in your taxes," said Township Administrator Paul Shives.

Generally, Shives said, the value of homes in all sections of the township went down since the last revaluation – completed in 2008 – was performed at the height of the real estate bubble.

Under the current reassessment, some homes dropped in value more than others. So homeowners whose homes maintained more of their value than the average township-wide have been left to shoulder more of the township's financial burden.

Residents at Tuesday's meeting said their increased tax bills were unfair, that they may be precluded from saving for their retirement or their children's college education. One man, an attorney who said his house off Old Freehold Road increased in value from the $700,000 range to above $800,000, even threatened legal action.

Reassessment Was Coming, Sandy or Not

After the 2008 reassessment, property owners in the township's waterfront and barrier island sections sometimes saw their tax bills double or triple, prompting widespread frustration that too-few homeowners were carrying too much of the township's weight, and that some residents could even be driven out of their homes.

After the real estate market began to decay, thousands of homeowners turned to tax appeals to lower their liabilities, and nearly all were successful.

"The township had 4,000 tax appeals last year and we lost every one of them because the values were not commensurate with [the assessments]," said Shives.

The real estate market's correction effectively forced the township to undergo a reassessment, officials have said. Contrary to rumors that have spread since the latest round of tax bills went out, the reassessment would have been undertaken even if Sandy had never struck.

But the depletion of the township's tax base thanks to the storm did have an affect on the bottom line. With many properties uninhabitable or destroyed, there are fewer residents to foot the township's bills, resulting in a higher rate for those who remain.

"I foresee a recovery to the ratable base, that's what I expect," said Shives. "We are hopeful and optimistic that that takes place, but I couldn't tell you what [Toms River] will look like at the end of the year."

Residents who disagree with their assessments are left with only one option.

"If you do not agree with the assessment, you have a right to appeal," said Shives.