 Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 11:14 pm EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| I know for a fact that Cranbury is still well better than Plainsboro as of 2007 and that there is not a big difference between '06 and '07 for Plainsboro. So unless some of the other towns improved, Cranbury is still at least 3/4ers of the the way down the list... | |
| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 9:43 pm EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| Great find. Not surprising to me that we ranked that well. Our town has no high school and has been good at attracting rateables and managing services. For example, the towns on the list provide garbage collection services and most (if not all) have highschools even if they are regionalized.
My guess is that Cranbury is more toward the middle in 2007. |
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| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 2:59 pm EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| FYI:
I found this 2006 property tax comparison for the Middlesex county compiled by the South Brunswick schools. Cranbury ranked 24 out of 25. It will be nice to know the 2007 ranking for Cranbury. http://www.sbschools.org/boe/general_information/voter_information/docs/tax_rate_comparison_07.pdf |
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| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 12:40 pm EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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Is the 17% increase budget increase? According to the mayor: "... Mayor Stout reported the County had struck the tax rate for the Township for 2007 at a rate of $1.47 per $100 of assessed value and explained the amount represents approximately an overall increase of 17% from last year’s rate. Of the new rate, 0.255 is the County Tax Rate, 0.030 is the County Open Space Tax Rate, 0.350 is the Municipal Budget Tax Rate, 0.021 is the Municipal Open Space Tax and 0.814 is the District School Tax Rate. ..." http://cranburytownship.org/TC_minutes070907.html It reads like a 17% tax rate increase. Is tax rate increase the same as tax amount increase? |
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| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 8:44 am EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| I talked to several neighbors about the tax recently. Some got a lower assessed value; most did not complain much mainly because they gathered that the home owners in the neighboring towns pay higher property tax than us. Also, neighbors who have kids in school tended to complain less. | |
| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 8:36 am EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| I appealed with through the process the Township organized with the company handling the reassessments months back and got a small downward adjustment, a little over 2%.
The appeals process appeared to be fact based. In other words, proving that there was something in the variables they used to come up with the assessment that was wrong. Inaccurate size of house or lot, inaccurate # of fireplaces, whatever, or mistakes in the comp of the neighborhood. It was definitely not a forum for saying "this is an unfair increase" or "but prices are declining since the assessment" or "but Joe had his kitchen redone and spent a fortune inside, so my valuation should be lower." I doubt the County or State process is any less fact-based. As Jeff said, once the reassessment started, that ship had sailed and it was going to fall where it fell. Independent of that, the Township could have delivered a budget with less than a 17% increase to add insult to injury, but there is no way to appeal that individually. |
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| Posted: Fri, Sep 14 2007, 7:33 am EDT Post subject: Re: tax |
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| The appeal process you mention is individually based. So we could have 1,000 residents appeal to the county, but it would not affect the town as a whole. Each ruling would be independent based on your property.
The ship sailed and we can't do anything other than argue that our specific property may be over valued through the appeal process. The process you outlined is what the commercial wharehouses should have done and what the TC should have encouraged. However, they did not and once the entire reval started there was no going back. Bad decision and bad impact. |
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| Posted: Thu, Sep 13 2007, 11:13 pm EDT Post subject: tax |
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| I don't know about you, but I appealed to the township, the county, and now have an appeal pending with the state. Didn't anybody read the instructions for filing appeals? Only about a dozen people appealed at the county level. Is anybody dealing with Trenton?
It may be too late to do anything unless the WHOLE township complains about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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