9 Middlesex County Towns Under Pressure To Do Tax Reval — Is Yours One?

Woodbridge, NJ - Uh oh. Is your town on this list?

A total of nine towns in Middlesex County have not had a tax revaluation in more than 25 years and may be violating the New Jersey Constitution by paying outdated property taxes, the state Division of Taxation has found. While it's too early to know yet, some of these towns may be forced to do a mandatory property tax reval, as South River and Dunellen were ordered to do earlier this year.

These nine Middlesex County towns were identified as paying taxes that do not correspond with current property values: Edison Township, which has not had a reval since 1983; Woodbridge Township, which has not had a reval since 1986; South Brunswick Township, which has not had a reval since 1987; Old Bridge Township, which has not had a reval since 1972; East Brunswick Township, which has not had a reval since 1983; South Plainfield, which has not had a reval since 1986; Middlesex borough, which has not had a reval since 1986, Highland Park, which has not had a reval since 1990 and South River, which has not had a reval since 1986.

Under a reval, it's likely property taxes will go up for many homeowners in those towns. Property taxes may stay the same, or even go down, for others.

Earlier this year, the state had to force two towns in Middlesex County - Dunellen and South River - to conduct mandatory revals of property assessments. Facing mounting pressure, Carteret, New Brunswick and Piscataway voluntarily agreed to do revals, as well. Jersey City was also forced by the state this year to do a mandatory tax reval, something its mayor, Steve Fulop, fought for more than two years before finally capitulating to state law.

The state said it is waiting to see how the Middlesex County Tax Board will act. Middlesex is the only tax board in the state to not order a revaluation for any town in the county in more than 20 years.

"To say that I am profoundly disappointed with your Tax Board's performance and refusal to meet statutory, constitutional and regulatory obligations would be a gross understatement," wrote John Ficara, Director of the state Division of Taxation in a scathing letter to the Middlesex Tax Board, dated Sept. 28. "While crafting a balanced budget may be a challenge for some municipalities, this does not give towns permission to ignore the requirements of the New Jersey Constitution."

Director Ficara gave the Middlesex County Tax Board Commissioners five days to respond on how they will deal with those nine towns listed. Wednesday was the deadline for them to respond. As of Friday afternoon, they still had not responded.

The members and president of the Middlesex County Tax Board are: Richard Lorentzen, President, Kevin Egan, Commissioner, Arthur M. Haney, Commissioner and Michael E. Lachs, Commissioner. The Board has repeatedly ignored calls when Patch tried to call their office in New Brunswick.