Are Republican Rolling Reassessments in North Arlington Fair or Equitable?
Is reassessing the value of some properties and not all even Constitutional?
North Arlington – For years the Borough of North Arlington has conducted rolling tax assessments, a process that just a portion of the block and lot order is revaluated, while a majority is not.
Here in New Jersey, there apparently is no statutory schedule for assessment or reassessment of residential and commercial properties.
So why is this process that is so popular with the all-Republican Borough Council, but incredibly unpopular with most residents and voters?
For those being reassessed, why are there values being increased and thus paying higher property taxes while the other homes remain the same?
Instead of rolling assessments, isn’t it cheaper and more efficient to simply conduct one single revaluation say every four or five years?
Sources tell NA Today that neighboring Essex County has ended the practice of rolling reassessments based on the notion of such processes being unfair to those who are ultimately reassessed versus those that are not.
And if the borough is conducting annual, random reassessments, what is the cost to taxpayers to conduct these inspections each and every year versus say every four or five years?
Estimating the cost of such an inspection at roughly $100 per property line item, is this really a cost-effective practice that most homeowners seemingly oppose?
As many residents ask, why is the process enthusiastically supported by the all-Republican Mayor & Council, but is this process in the best interest of North Arlington homeowners?
It will probably require an OPRA (Open Public Records Request) request to find out the cost of these annual inspections, and what is the impact on municipal spending?
Why invest in an expenditure four times or three times when the process can be conducted just once?
Ultimately, rolling reassessments is a system where municipalities like North Arlington annually reappraise sections or portions of the town’s properties, rather than conducting a full revaluation of all properties at once, which is traditionally done every 10 years by a majority of New Jersey’s 567 communities.
The Democratic candidates for council, John Balwierczak and Cengiz “Jim” Sever oppose the current reassessment policies of the Republicans who have made it clear they will keep this process in place as long as Republicans have the council majority.
Mayor Dan Pronti (R) is adamant about rolling reassessments but does not vote.
Incumbent Councilman Kirk Del Russo (R), a local real estate agent and longtime supporter of the failed Encap housing scheme as a former redevelopment commissioner, is 100% behind keeping the rolling reassessment process in place despite the unpopularity with voters.
When voting this fall, remember the record of Councilman Del Russo.
Does he support your interests when it comes to these rolling Republican reassessments?
Elections do have consequences.