Hopewell Township, like all municipalities, regularly assesses the value of homes within the township to ensure valuations are accurate, fair and equitable. This assessment is required by state law.
Hopewell Township’s municipal tax assessor examines the previous two years of sales of all homes in the township annually, according to a statement provided by the township.
By adjusting values each year, the tax assessor maintains uniform and fair values and avoids dramatic changes that can occur when assessments are not done on a regular basis. The list of homes used for this comparison is provided by the State Division of Taxation.
This year, after careful review, the tax assessors determined the township needed to revalue 17 of the township’s 135 neighborhoods, according to the statement. As property values have generally increased substantially over the past two years as home prices have risen, the increase in property values resulted in revaluations ranging from 3-7%, according to the statement.
Once the 2022 tax rate is established, the tax dollar change will be determined. The changes in property assessments are reviewed and approved by the Mercer County Tax Board, which also reserves the right to adjust the assessor’s work on a case-by-case basis, according to the statement.
If a property assessment has increased – indicated on the notice of property tax postcards mailed this month – or if, for any reason, a homeowner believes the current assessment is incorrect, he/she has the right to file an appeal with the County Board of Taxation.
The instructions and application are available at www.mercercounty.org/government/board-of-taxation/appeal-instruction-and-application
Appeals should be filed with the county and copies should be supplied to the offices of the Hopewell Township assessor and the township clerk.
Township Assessor Dan Keough can be reached at dkeough@hopewelltwp.org and Township Clerk Laurie Gompf can be reached at lgompf@hopewelltwp.org.
The deadline for application is April 1.
The township collects property taxes on behalf of several entities. In 2021, 58.25% of property taxes went to the Hopewell Valley Regional School District, 22.9% to Mercer County, 14.29% to Hopewell Township, 3.56% to the Fire District, and 0.98% to Open Space.
