By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN – A Democrat running for a seat on the Township Committee has asked Manalapan’s elected officials to pull the municipality out of a Monmouth County property assessment program.
Kim Rodman addressed the committee at its March 30 meeting and said she was speaking for herself and Bernie Frojmovich, her running mate in the 2016 municipal election.
Rodman asked officials to follow the lead of several other county municipalities and remove Manalapan from the Monmouth County Assessment Demonstration Program. The program is used to assign a value to a property and that value becomes the basis by which a property owner’s tax bill is determined.
Rodman referred to published reports regarding alleged conflicts of interest with the administration of the Assessment Demonstration Program, as well as the impact on property taxes that some homeowners have experienced following the reassessment of their properties through the program.
Monmouth County tax officials have given municipal representatives the authority to remove their community from the Assessment Demonstration Program and officials in several towns have opted out of the program. However, state officials have not determined if the county’s tax board had the authority to permit municipalities to opt out of the program, which was created through state legislation.
Township Committee members responded to Rodman’s comments.
Committeeman Jack McNaboe said, “The roll-out of the ADP has been terrible. I am looking at what is best for Manalapan residents and I have more questions than answers right now. We could be facing the possibility of spending $1 million to do another revaluation. The bottom line is this: What is good for our residents? We are trying to figure that out. If the (ADP) can be tweaked, maybe it can work. The big thing is to have our facts in order” before any decision on opting out of the program is made.
Committeeman David Kane said, “I have said that I am not a fan of this program. The Assessment Demonstration Program has been a burden on some people and people may lose faith in us if we do not opt out, because by not opting out, it looks like we are opting in.”
Mayor Mary Ann Musich said municipal officials will reach out to the county to ask for an extension of the deadline by which a decision regarding Manalapan’s continued participation in the program must be made.
In other business at the March 30 meeting, Musich announced that Manalapan has received a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s 2016 municipal aid program.
“We will graciously accept that grant,” Musich said.
Township Engineer James Winckowski said officials anticipate using the grant to resurface Taylors Mills Road from Route 9 to the Marlboro border.
