Tax Woes Center of Debate at Committee Meeting

More than a dozen Barnegat residents took their concerns about rising taxes before the Township Committee and a standing-room-only crowd Monday night at the Committee’s regular meeting, dominating the public comment period with frustrated pleas for an explanation of the increases they saw in their newly arrived tax bills.

Sal Prevette, who lives in the High Pointe neighborhood, said his annual property taxes are more than $3,000 over what the developer who sold him his house said he could expect.

“Everyone in High Pointe feels it’s unfair, unjust and a slap in the face,” Prevette said of the tax rate hike. “That’s a Long Island tax rate. We feel it’s way too high."

Prevette said he has no problem supporting the community he loves by paying his taxes, “but at this point, it’s a ridiculous tax rate. And that only comes about so suddenly due to mismanagement and reckless spending.”

Berenice Jachter, a Horizons resident, said she’s never seen her neighbors so unhappy in the eight years she’s called Barnegat home.

“A couple of them have put their houses on the market, because they just can’t afford to live here any more,” she said. “Frankly, I’m not happy with any of you on the Committee. We’d like to get rid of you, because you’re hurting too many people that live here.”

Jachter said the increase in taxes might drive her away, too. “This is a good town,” she said. “It’s lovely, but I’d love to get out of it myself."

Elected officials and Township Administrator David Breeden repeatedly explained to the crowd that – responsible for about 30 percent of residents’ overall bill – decreased this year, meaning the township is collecting fewer tax dollars.

But other factors are contributing to some residents seeing an increase in their tax bills, officials explained.

“This town has lost $621 million in ratables,” said Breeden, because property values have plummeted in recent years. As the taxable property loses value, the municipal tax rate must increase for the township to collect the same amount of money, hey said.

Combine that with the fact that Barnegat underwent a last year that lowered some residents’ property values, but not others, and the result was an uneven distribution in the tax burden, said Breeden. That’s why some residents were stuck paying more taxes this year, while others paid less than in 2010.

Also at issue is the millions lost due to, he said, as residents fight to have their homes assessed at levels closer to market value. Officials said Tuesday night that about 2,500 appeals have been filed in the township in recent years.

Balancing the budget was a difficult task in 2011, said Breeden, in part because state aid is down, and Barnegat is required by the state to set aside 8 to 9 percent of its budget in a reserve to protect against default due to people not paying taxes.

But the Committee worked to keep things on a level, he said, without slashing services. “We’ve reduced our operating budget by $400,000,” he said. “We’re asking for less tax dollars. We’re doing what’s necessary to stabilize costs. When people pick up the phone to request help or services, they expect a response, and they get a response.”

And in the meantime, the township is working to fix what it says is at the heart of the problem of Barnegat's unequal tax burden.

“After years of following the process and trying our best to fix a flawed and broken system, we had to take drastic action,” Breeden said, referring to the Committee’s to the county until officials in Toms River help them draw up a new plan for town-wide property reassessment. “We’re tyring to fix that problem, and until that problem is fixed, we’ll have massive tax appeals that will drain our fund balance. It’s a vicious cycle that must be broken, and this Committee has taken measures to break that cycle.”

The economic downturn has hurt everyone, said Deputy Mayor Al Cirulli.

“We’re still trying to recover from this,” he said. “All we can hope for right now is to stabilize the taxes and get the assessments straightened out. Unless we find gold on town hall property, taxes aren’t going down.”

The township sent out explain the details of this year’s budget and its efforts to administer a fix for the appeals problem along with tax bills this quarter, but the mailer didn’t go over well with some residents.

“It’s nothing but a political ploy,” said Marianne Clemente.

For others, the explanations just weren’t enough.

Angelo Mureo said he saw no reason for the $1,311.88 increase in his bill over last year, because there had been no improvements in municipal services and he hadn’t made any improvements to his home. As a result, he said, he’d be filing a tax appeal himself.

“And I encourage everyone else in Barnegat to do so,” he said. “Put this town on its ear, because these people are not in control.”