Township Property Revaluation Could Come Next Year

Washington Township officials are planning to have a revaluation of township properties performed due to a large number of tax appeals, but the work will not be able to be done this year, officials said this week.

Township Tax Assessor Ray Damiano recently sent letters outlining the township's criteria to appraisal companies who expressed interest in doing the work, but none of them are available for this year, according to Administrator Catherine Navarro-Steinel.

The change in property values would not take place until 2014 at the earliest, Navarro-Steinel said. Because the state must review the revaluation, the appraisals must be done by October of the year before the changes take effect.

The township's last revaluation was done in 2006.

Since 2010, . The number of appeals has increased each year. This year alone, 271 township property owners appealed their taxes, drawing $322,000 out of the town's budget.

The township lost about $168,000 from 105 tax appeals in 2010 and $194,000 last year from 117 tax appeals.

Most of the appeals have been coming from condo owners rather than houses or commercial properties, township attorney Kenneth Poller previously said.

Mayor Janet Sobkowicz previously estimated the revaluation could cost as much as $300,000.

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