Tax Assessment Improvement Program to Test at Shore

Monmouth County is likely to be one of four taking part in a pilot program aimed at increasing the efficiency of tax assessment procedures, which proponents say would reduce the number of costly homeowner appeals.

Assembly members Caroline Casagrande (R-11) and Declan O'Scanlon (R-13) co-sponsor the bipartisan bill signed into law today by Governor Christie. During the four-year test phase, tax assessors in every community of a given county will get common accesss to standard software containing current land value estimates.

O'Scanlon claims it's a "revolutionary" way to amend a system that he characterizes as expensive and flawed. “It will rework the entire process so that towns are no longer burdened with uncertainty as to the value of their tax base," he said in a prepared statement, "facilitate remedying unfair and outdated assessments, and will obviate the need for expensive town-wide reassessments and the dramatic valuation shifts that go along with them."

Casagrande added that the program addresses the need to create municipal tax bases on accurate data instead of specious estimates. “Having everyone on the same page and adjusting a few deadlines are cost-free common sense solutions that will save property taxpayers money in the long run through efficiencies and a more accurate property tax system."