Bergenfield Tax Do-Over

We knew there was something wrong with the tax gouging in our neighboring Bergenfield NJ!

Revaluation to spell relief for taxpayers
Thursday, April 3, 2008
BY SERDAR TUMGOREN STAFF WRITER

BERGENFIELD — Homeowners whose property taxes skyrocketed two years ago may soon get relief with the aid of a revaluation.

The Borough Council on Tuesday approved the revaluation at the urging of new Tax Assessor George Reggo, who said commercial properties are undervalued and many identical homes pay wildly different taxes.

Property inspections could begin as early as May, with the new assessments affecting 2009 tax bills.

"There's no rhyme or reason that I can figure out how the last revaluation was done," Reggo said Wednesday, referring to the revaluation conducted in 2003-05.

"There are houses right next to each other – built the same year, same square footage, same type house, everything's identical," Reggo said. "But one is assessed at $350,000 and the other at $430,000."

State figures on home sales show that Bergenfield properties are taxed at 73 percent of their true value, said Reggo, who attributed most of the inequity to under-valued commercial properties. The lack of any tax appeals from commercial property owners — compared with scores of homeowner appeals — is an indicator of the problem, he said.

The 2005 revaluation caused a revolt by homeowners, many of whom saw their taxes increase 100 percent or more. An analysis The Record conducted in 2006 found that some property assessments were off by nearly $100,000 — either too high or too low.

"It comes two years too late, but it's the right thing to do right now," said Eugene Korn, who became a leader of the Bergenfield Property Owners' Association after his yearly taxes jumped from $8,000 to $14,500.

"The data is very clear," he said, "that commercial properties were under-assessed and there were gross inequities in residential properties based upon which neighborhood they were lying in."

Homeowners demanding a revaluation contributed to a landslide victory in the fall election by Mayor Timothy Driscoll and his council running mates, Bruce Carlson and Barry Doll.

Driscoll said Wednesday that he doubts the revaluation will mean big tax breaks for most homeowners, but he said a correction is needed for the "start-and-stop" revaluation conducted several years ago.

E-mail: tumgoren@northjersey.com
BERGENFIELD — Homeowners whose property taxes skyrocketed two years ago may soon get relief with the aid of a revaluation.

The Borough Council on Tuesday approved the revaluation at the urging of new Tax Assessor George Reggo, who said commercial properties are undervalued and many identical homes pay wildly different taxes.

Property inspections could begin as early as May, with the new assessments affecting 2009 tax bills.

"There's no rhyme or reason that I can figure out how the last revaluation was done," Reggo said Wednesday, referring to the revaluation conducted in 2003-05.

"There are houses right next to each other – built the same year, same square footage, same type house, everything's identical," Reggo said. "But one is assessed at $350,000 and the other at $430,000."

State figures on home sales show that Bergenfield properties are taxed at 73 percent of their true value, said Reggo, who attributed most of the inequity to under-valued commercial properties. The lack of any tax appeals from commercial property owners — compared with scores of homeowner appeals — is an indicator of the problem, he said.

The 2005 revaluation caused a revolt by homeowners, many of whom saw their taxes increase 100 percent or more. An analysis The Record conducted in 2006 found that some property assessments were off by nearly $100,000 — either too high or too low.

"It comes two years too late, but it's the right thing to do right now," said Eugene Korn, who became a leader of the Bergenfield Property Owners' Association after his yearly taxes jumped from $8,000 to $14,500.

"The data is very clear," he said, "that commercial properties were under-assessed and there were gross inequities in residential properties based upon which neighborhood they were lying in."

Homeowners demanding a revaluation contributed to a landslide victory in the fall election by Mayor Timothy Driscoll and his council running mates, Bruce Carlson and Barry Doll.

Driscoll said Wednesday that he doubts the revaluation will mean big tax breaks for most homeowners, but he said a correction is needed for the "start-and-stop" revaluation conducted several years ago.