Tuesday Night Meeting on Property Tax Reval in South River Postponed

South River, NJ - Update: The meeting has been rescheduled for 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 17 at the South River VFW, 31 Reid St., in South River, New Jersey, South River Borough Administrator Fred Carr told Patch.

The state Dept. of Treasury will hold a public hearing Tuesday night, July 26 as New Jersey intensifies its efforts to force South River to do a property tax reval — something the borough has not done in 30 years. The hearing will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26 at the South River VFW. Any South River property owner or resident is invited to attend and encouraged to testify.

The 2015 market value of property in South River exceeds the assessed value by $925.8 million, the state says.

South River is one of eight New Jersey towns that were investigated by the state of New Jersey, starting in November of 2015, for failing to do property revaluations, which are required by law. The Treasury Dept. first ordered Dunellen, Jersey City and Elizabeth to do revaluations. This past spring, the state announced it was expanding its probe to include 5 more towns: South River, Harrison, East Newark, Westfield and Winfield.

All five of those towns — South River, Harrison, East Newark, Westfield and Winfield — have a Director’s Ratio that is among the lowest in New Jersey. That ratio represents the relationship between the assessed value and the true value of all property. A ratio that is lower than 85% is considered not in compliance with the State Constitution, which requires uniform taxation. South River's Director’s Ratio is 30.82%.

"The Division of Taxation is taking this action because of repeated failures by the Middlesex County Board of Taxation to provide proper oversight," a spokesman for the state Treasury Department, Joe Perone, has previously said. "Members of the Middlesex Board have demonstrated an astonishing lack of competence by ignoring their constitutional obligation."

The mayor of South River, John Krenzel, has said that South River is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy, according to NJ.com.