Sponsored by:
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Requires municipalities to notify affected property owners before implementing compliance plan to reassess valuation of certain properties.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the assessment of real property and amending chapter 4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.54:4-23 is amended to read as follows:
54:4-23. All real property shall be assessed to the person owning the same on October 1 in each year. The assessor shall ascertain the names of the owners of all real property situate in [his] the assessor’s taxing district, and after examination and inquiry, determine the full and fair value of each parcel of real property situate in the taxing district at such price as, in [his] the assessor’s judgment, it would sell for at a fair and bona fide sale by private contract on October 1 next preceding the date on which the assessor shall complete [his] the assessments, as hereinafter required; provided, however, that in determining the full and fair value of land which is being assessed and taxed under the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) [chapter 48, laws of 1964], the assessor shall consider only those indicia of value which such land has for agricultural or horticultural use as provided by said act; and provided further however, that when the assessor has reason to believe that property comprising all or part of a taxing district has been assessed at a value lower or higher than is consistent with the purpose of securing uniform taxable valuation of property according to law for the purpose of taxation, or that the assessment of property comprising all or part of a taxing district is not in substantial compliance with the law and that the interests of the public will be promoted by a reassessment of such property, the assessor shall, after due investigation, make a reassessment of the property in the taxing district that is not in substantial compliance, provided that (1) the assessor has first notified, in writing, the mayor, the municipal governing body, the county board of taxation, and the county tax administrator of the basis of the assessor's determination that a reassessment of that property in the taxing district is warranted [and] ; (2) the assessor has submitted a copy of a compliance plan to the county board of taxation for approval; and (3) after approval by the county board of taxation, the assessor has submitted written notice by regular mail to the owner of each property to be reassessed under the compliance plan, which notice shall inform the taxpayer of the manner in which the reassessment will be implemented, the potential impact of the reassessment on the valuation of the taxpayer’s property, and the right of the taxpayer to file an appeal pursuant to R.S.54:3-21. In the case of real property located in a county participating in the
demonstration program established in section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104), the assessor of the municipality in which the real property is situate, after due investigation, shall make a reassessment of the property in the taxing district that is not in substantial compliance. Following a reassessment of a portion of the taxing district pursuant to the provisions of this section, the assessor shall certify to the county board of taxation, through such sampling as the county board of taxation deems adequate, that the reassessment is in substantial compliance with the portions of the taxing district that were not reassessed. For the purposes of assessment, the assessor shall compute and determine the taxable value of such real property at the level established for the county pursuant to law.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.15, s.11)
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a municipality to notify affected property owners before implementing a compliance plan to reassess the valuation of certain properties within the municipality.
Under current law, a municipal tax assessor may revise the valuation of certain properties outside of the context of a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment. This practice is known as “assessment maintenance” and is conducted through the approval of a compliance plan. However, before a compliance plan may be implemented, current law requires the tax assessor to submit: (1) written notice justifying the reassessment to the mayor and governing body of the municipality, the county board of taxation, and the county tax administrator; and (2) a copy of the compliance plan to the county board of taxation for approval.
This bill provides that the tax assessor would also be required to submit written notice to the owner of each property that would be reassessed under the compliance plan. Specifically, this notice would be required to inform the taxpayer of: (1) the manner in which the reassessment will be implemented; (2) the potential impact of the reassessment on the valuation of the taxpayer’s property; and (3) the right of the taxpayer to file a property tax assessment appeal. Under the bill, the notice would be provided after the county board of taxation has approved the compliance plan, and the notice would be submitted by regular mail.