Washington Township Lost $324K to Tax Appeals in 2012
Washington Township officials are planning to hold a revaluation next year because of the large number of tax appeals.
Washington Township property owners successfully appealed more than $300,000 worth of taxes this year.
Property owners can appeal their tax bill to the county if they believe the value of their home or business is inaccurately appraised. The number of appeals in the township has been increasing each year, and the amount of money refunded has also increased. The township lost about $168,000 in 2010 and $194,000 last year.
A spreadsheet prepared by township officials earlier this year estimated that more than $322,000 had been lost to appeals, but the final sum was delayed as the county had to consider the appeals. The council approved the final refunds at their meeting last week, bringing the year's total to about $324,000 in refunds.
Township attorney Kenneth Poller previously said that many of the appeals were coming from condo owners.
When a property owner is successful with a tax appeal, the municipality is responsible for refunding money for itself, as well as the local school and county taxes collected.
Township officials are planning to have a revaluation performed next year to combat the rising number of tax appeals. The changes will affect property taxes in 2014.
During the revaluation, inspectors will have to visit every property in the township and give information they collect to appraisers. The township last had a revaluation done in 2006.
Despite the losses this year, township officials said they expected to be able to handle the surprise costs of Hurricane Sandy without needing to use emergency purchases that would go into next year's budget.
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LE
2:06 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Property values have dropped, since the revaluation in 2006....so if your home was valued at $450K in 2006, and it is valued at $400K now, it is reasonable to appeal your taxes....
B@B
9:55 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
But you will pay for it and more when they do the reval. Just think...shared dispatch would have made up the difference.
John Q. Citizen
5:19 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
shared dispatch wouldve saved nothing...actually would cost the town more. When a town like ours saves money on tone thing they will spend twice as much on something else
Kelly Van Rijn
9:55 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
So, the township's answer will be what politicians always do: reassess property values downward, then raise the tax rates to make up the difference. EIther way, the poor township property owner will pay more. Heaven forbid the township layoff a cop or two, then everything would balance out.