By STEVEN VIERA
Staff Writer
SOUTH RIVER — The Division of Taxation, acting under the authority of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, has postponed a meeting for residents to discuss their experiences paying property taxes in the borough.
The meeting has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the South River Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building, which is located at 31 Reid St.
“This was the first time that we tried to schedule a public hearing during the busy summer months, so all we are doing is rescheduling the hearing to a more workable date — Aug. 17,” said Joseph Perone, director of communications for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. “Nothing else changes. The time, location and topic remain the same, and municipal officials have been apprised of the new date.”
The state is investigating whether or not South River should be ordered to conduct a property revaluation, which it has not done in 30 years, and is required by law to host these meetings as a way of soliciting feedback from the public.
South River has one of the lowest director’s ratios — a measure of the relationship between the true value and assessed value of property — in New Jersey. Whereas a ratio below 85 percent is considered outside the state constitution’s mandate of uniform taxation, South River has a director’s ratio of 30.82 percent.
“The 2015 true value of property in South River exceeds assessed value by $925.8 million,” Perone said.
However, Mayor John Krenzel has said that the borough is still suffering from the effects of superstorm Sandy, and it has lost more than 60 homes as a result of Gov. Chris Christie’s Blue Acres Program to buy damaged houses and stands to lose even more in a second buyout round; for that reason, he said, a revaluation now would not present an accurate picture of South River’s value.
Beginning in 2015, the state investigated Elizabeth, Jersey City and Dunellen for being “delinquent” in conducting property revaluations, and all three were ordered to conduct revaluations. In April 2016, the state launched similar investigations into Harrison, East Newark, Westfield, Winfield and South River.
Contact Steven Viera at sviera@gmnews.com.
