Hurricane Sandy

Tax Assistance Events for Sandy-Affected Areas

The free events are designed help individuals and businesses prepare their 2012 tax returns.

The State's Treasury Department's Division of Taxation has organized a number of tax assistance outreach events throughout February and March in towns affected by Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Chris Christie's office announced Thursday.  The events, scheduled during the height of tax season, are being held in towns that suffered heavy damage during Sandy as well as adjacent municipalities. The events will be located at libraries or other public buildings. The events are scattered throughout Monmouth, Ocean and Bergen Counties. The tax assistance events are free and residents can register online by visiting https://www.state.nj.us/treas/taxation/contactus_tytstormsandyrelief.shtml.. Residents can also email outreach.tax@treas.state.nj.us or call …

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Howell, Farmingdale Taxes Below State Average

Cost of rebuilding after Sandy could affect rates, according to Star-Ledger analysis

Howell's property tax bills remain less than the state average and the township's tax increase from 2011 to 2012 was less than the state average as well. The $7,142.42 for Howell Township was less than the statewide average of $7,870.28 and the property taxes decreased 1.5 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to a Star-Ledger analysis. In Farmingdale the $5,757.14 was well below the state average and was a 2.3 percent increase from 2011 to 2012. Property tax bills actually decreased in 117 municipalities, and remained flat in 4 others. The Star-Ledger reported noted that property taxes statewide rose 2.4 percent in 2011, the first year Christie’s 2 percent cap was in effect. But the trend of lower increases could be reversed because of …

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Hurricane Sandy

Tax Deadline extended to Friday

Executive Order signed after recent storms

With quarterly tax bills due Nov. 1 the township announced on Monday that following an executive order signed by Gov. Chris Christie residents have a few more days to pay thanks to an extended grace period.  Instead of the original earlier deadline residents now have until Friday according to an email from Township Manager Helene Schlegel.  The executive order was signed on Friday to help those people impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the recent snowstorm. "We recognize that many property owners might be unable to access bank records and other important documents because of the storm," the Governor said in a press release. "Also, the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Sandy continues to disrupt transportation and communication, which …

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Singer Talks with Board About Reval, Taxes and the Future

Meeting highlighted by visit from state senator

After being invited to speak at Wednesday's meeting of the Howell Board of Education State Sen. Robert Singer said he was glad to see the members taking such an aggressive approach to the current financial situation.  Singer, a former mayor of Lakewood said he remembers when his town went through similar situations to what Howell is going through now with revaluations, lowering property assessments and increasing taxes. "This is a difficult subject," he said. "It's something that we've dealt with for many many years." Funding Finding a solution to school funding, he said, dates back to when Brendan Byrne was governor of the state and the income tax was instituted. "They said to the public back then, if you pass the income tax that will pay…

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BOE Looks to Tackle Taxing Issue

Hopes to work with state legislators, groups

At Wednesday night's Howell Board of Education meeting Finance Committee Chairman John Van Noy brought to the board a proposal that he hopes will help township taxpayers in the future.  In a summer when taxation has been a focal point of meetings of not only the board of education but also the Howell Township Mayor and Council, Van Noy presented a proposal to his fellow members at the dais. "Right now it's an idea and I'm studying and trying to learn all aspects of it," he said.  Van Noy's suggestion was that the board look to the New Jersey School Boards Association to help put pressure on legislators in Trenton. "We have an issue as everyone knows with the source of state funds and how they're allocated to the schools," he said. "Clearly…

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Tax Rate Dominates Public Portion of Township Meeting

Residents voice concerns with raised rates

Since receiving their tax bills in the mail, residents have expressed their displeasure at seeing their rates go up at many recent meetings.  Tuesday night's council meeting provided some another opportunity and the council members encouraged their participation and told them to get other people involved as well.  Vicki Blaess was the first resident to speak and said she was concerned by how much her taxes have gone up in recent years. "I understand the assessments and you did raise the rate because you're trying to get the money from somewhere," she said.  When she said she believed like other governmental agencies there was a spending problem rather than a revenue problem, Deputy Mayor William Gotto responded by saying that was not the …

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Stop the insanity

12:20 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Typically,small rural communities such as Howell do not have adequate real estate volume annual to create a sample big enough for a meaningful sales study. Without enough sales, you cannot reappraise property fairly or properly and achieve equalization. Rural communties need at least 2, perhaps 3, years to get enough data.   more ›

Deputy Mayor Gotto's Office Hours Get Tax Message to Residents

Two sessions held this week

For residents who were unhappy with their recent tax bills a meeting last week was a chance for them to ask members of the council what caused some of their bills to spike as much as 30 percent or more.  Deputy Mayor William Gotto was unable to attend that meeting because of an illness but said it was important for him to talk with residents about their concerns. On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday night Gotto held office hours at Town Hall.  The Message: He said he hoped it would help the people he met with to understand what happened to lead to such drastic increases. "You've got to be able to tell the story of what happened and show that there have been things we're doing that made a difference," he said. "Right now nobody wants to hear…

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Deputy Mayor to Host Office Hours This Week

Missed Meeting Due to Illness

After missing last week's council meeting due to an illness Deputy Mayor William Gotto will meet with residents this week to discuss their new tax rates.  Gotto will be at Town Hall on Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Depending on how many people turn out for the meetings they will either be held in the Mayor's office near the council chambers or in the chamber itself.  The meeting, he hopes will be a chance to interact with residents of Howell who were unhappy with the increase in their taxes. The unhappiness was magnified for many residents who also saw their homes lose value in a recent reassessment. "I want to provide the public with increased personal accessibility in light of the reassessment and …

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Tax Questions Presented at BOE Meeting

Followed similar events from council meeting

The scene at Middle School North for the Howell Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night was vastly different than it had been just 24 hours earlier.  While the Town Council answered questions about the recently delivered tax bills in front of hundreds of residents the board was in front of just a handful of residents but many of the same questions were asked.  Two residents, Howard West and Jim Barden, who had each spoken at Tuesday's meeting returned on Wednesday to find out more information about the process and any steps the board planned to take in the future. West said this week's meetings were the first of what he expected to be many meetings he will attend going forward. "We as the public have a responsibility to come to board…

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Howell Residents React to New Tax Bills

Meeting moved because of large turnout

Just as he does for every meeting of the Mayor and Council Township Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Filiatreault gave his report at the beginning of Tuesday night's session.  Filiatreault reported to nobody's surprise that tax bills had gone out on time to residents. Looking at the hundreds of residents who turned out causing the meeting to be moved from Town Hall to Middle School North Mayor Robert Walsh said with a laugh, "I think we all know that." For the next few hours residents came forward to express their feelings on the tax bills many of them received this weekend. For some, especially representing the residents of Equestra that tax bill brought an increase of anywhere between 25 and 35 percent. While the council was not able to …

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Tom Romeo

9:58 am on Monday, January 21, 2013

My property taxes went up nearly 27% from last year (over $3k). how is this possible...and is anyone else in the same position? nearly every tax on the statement went up over 20%. it's not about the "assessment", as it only went up 1.4%. is anyone in the same boat, and if so, have you gotten any satisfaction from the Tax Assessors office (who, btw, is in hidning)?   more ›