Reassessment Angst

From Courier News:

Franklin residents seeing red over taxes

Some residents of Franklin's age-restricted communities think their homes are assessed too frequently and that errors by the township assessor led to unfairly high assessments.

While complaints about property taxes are nothing new -- especially in New Jersey -- the residents have gained an important ally: the Township Council.

In July, the council asked the Somerset County Board of Taxation for at least a one-year suspension of tax assessor Burnham Hobbs Jr.'s annual reassessment policy and a review of assessment practices within the township.
...
Hobbs, on the job about 20 years, has defended his work. So has Franklin Mayor Brian Levine, who was the lone dissenting vote against the resolution. Levine said he supports a one-year freeze on assessments in order to resolve any issues, but he said the township's real issue is high property taxes, which result from high spending.
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"If we do not reassess each year, you end up transferring real estate taxes," Hobbs said. "They get transferred from neighborhoods that have gone up more rapidly to neighborhoods that have gone up more slowly."

"We make millions of dollars each year for this town on added assessments and omitted assessments," Hobbs said. "And we show the reason why we want to continue making re-inspections of all the properties -- is because things do change. Basements get finished, decks get added, air conditioners get added, without permits, and that's what we find."