Bill > S1747

Introduced Session

This bill would revise the current dates for the administration of the assessment of real property in order to create a more accurate process for that essential assessment function throughout the entire State. The provisions of the bill specifically address the systemic costs which result from the losses due to successful assessment appeals by property owners, which reduce the property tax base, and which require municipalities to refund large amounts of property taxes collected from those property owners prior to the successful assessment appeal, which lowers their assessment, and thereby lowers the amount of property taxes due and payable from those property owners. Under current law, every municipal tax assessor files the municipality's tax list with the county board of taxation, which subsequently sets the local tax rates. Assessment appeals are filed by property owners on April 1 of each year, or on May 1 in the case of a municipality that has undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment of real property. Appeals are heard by the county tax board and generally decided in most, if not all, cases by the end of July. Successful appeals that late in the tax year result in reduced assessments, which results in a reduced municipal tax base, which then results in the under-collection of property taxes to fund current year operations. The bill proposes the re-scheduling of the property assessment appeal process to dates prior to the calculation of the local property tax rate, which would allow for a more accurate local property tax rate to reflect local budgetary needs and the true value of the tax base that provides the property tax revenue to fund the local budget. The following chart sets forth the current statutory dates relative to the individual functions that comprise the real property assessment process, and the proposed dates for those functions under the bill: DATES RELATIVE TO CERTIFICATION OF THE TAX LIST, ASSESSMENT APPEALS, AND THE CALCULATION OF LOCAL TAX RATES IN ALL MUNICIPALITIESDescription of FunctionCurrent DateProposed DateAssessing DateOctober 1 of pre-tax yearOctober 1 of pre-tax yearCertification of Preliminary AssessmentN/ANovember 1 of pre-tax yearNotification of Assessment PostcardsFebruary 1November 15 of pre-tax year Assessment Appeal Filing DeadlineApril 1; May 1 in municipalities wherein revaluation of real property has occurredJanuary 15Assessment Appeals HeardMay, June and JulyFebruary, March and AprilTax List FiledJanuary 10May 5County Preliminary EqualizationMarch 10May 15County Final EqualizationMarch 10May 25Municipal Budget to Tax BoardMarch 31May 15County Budget to Tax BoardApril 1May 15 School Budget to Tax BoardMay 19May 15Certified Tax RatesMay 20May 31Tax DuplicatesJune 3June 3Tax BillsJune 14June 14 The assessment calendar proposed under this bill has been successfully implemented in Monmouth County since 2014, Gloucester County since 2018, and Burlington County since 2021. The calendar has been shown to provide municipalities in these counties with more financial certainty. By notifying property owners of their property tax assessments and deciding appeals of those assessments at earlier times, municipalities can better ascertain their revenues to ensure the integrity of their budgets throughout the fiscal year.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Paul Moriarty (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document