| Author |
Message |
    
Vicdeluca
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2001 - 9:34 am: |     |
Here is part 2 of the background information.
Certified was delayed in getting started because the tax maps had not yet been completed and approved. Nevertheless, in the spring of 2000, the home inspections began in the neighborhood nearest to Town Hall. Over the summer the firm moved east and north and in the fall they visited homes on the western side of town. Although the completion date for home visits was projected for October 1st , all inspections were completed by the end of December. Certified identified 42 specific neighborhoods in Maplewood based on size, age and characteristics of the housing stock.
Two to three weeks prior to the inspections, homeowners received a letter from Maplewood's Tax Assessor and a copy of the brochure, Revaluation in the Township of Maplewood. The brochure described the revaluation as a "comprehensive examination and assessment of every property in the Township of Maplewood for the purpose of fair tax apportionment. It will bring all property assessments to their current fair market value as of October 1, 2000." It explains that "some properties are assessed at a higher and some at a lower ratio to true value than others. The revaluation is being performed to assure that the tax levy is fairly distributed among property owners."
As inspections were completed throughout the year, Certified sent letters to each homeowner listing the preliminary assessment for 2001. The letter explained that the tax rate for the year 2001 was yet to be determined and invited homeowners with questions "to meet with one of our representatives to discuss the new assessed value." As of January 10th, 1,042 hearings have been held and 510 properties have been adjusted based on those hearings.
In the late fall, the Township Committee began hearing concerns from residents in the western section of town that the newly assessed values would result in significant tax increases. A representative from Certified was invited to the Committee's December 16th meeting to answer questions about the revaluation methods and the process of addressing homeowner concerns. About fifty residents attended the January 2, 2001 meeting of the Township Committee to express their concern about the increased assessments and the resulting tax liabilities and to ask questions about the firm and revaluation process. A direct result of the meeting was to obtain from the Tax Board a two-week extension, until January 24, of the deadline to report current property values.
On January 10, 2001, the Committee received, for the first time, a statistical analysis of the revaluation. The report shows that the total proposed ratable base for 2001, based on the preliminary reassessed values, is $2.125 billion, a 384 percent increase over the ratable base for 2000. Residential ratables increased by a factor of 393 percent and commercial ratables increased by 317 percent. The breakdown of the 6,843 residential properties by percentage increase is:
20 properties (.003%) increased by less than 200%
2112 properties (30.86%) increased by between 200% and 299%
1092 properties (15.94%) increased by between 300% and 350%
686 properties (10.02%) increased by between 351% and 400%
1315 properties (19.22%) increased by between 401% and 450%
841 properties (12.29%) increased by between 451% and 500%
653 properties (9.54%) increased by between 501% and 600%
125 properties (1.83%) increased by more than 600% |
|