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We have received word from a reader that Committeewoman Carol Rizzo has posted a notice on Facebook about tax inspections. Below is a condensed version based on what we have and is not a duplicate of the Rizzo Facebook post. (We don’t read Facebook.)
“In the next few weeks, OG homeowners may begin to receive notices from Realty Data Services letting them know that RDS will be coming to your home to do property inspections to determine a more precise value of real estate. The inspection will include taking photographs.” Rizzo says, “These inspections are mandated by the Monmouth County Assessment Demonstration Program.
Presumably all homeowners will receive more information and that Neptune will post the notice on their website rather than that chaotic, untrustworthy swamp called Facebook.
Why didn’t Rizzo send the information to Blogfinger? It’s because no local politician since Mary Beth Jahn has been willing to unconditionally share information with our readers.
And here is a quote from Blogfinger about the “new” (2015) tax assessment method. Will the Rizzo announcement say something else?
“For the next 5 years starting 2015, 20% of the houses will be inspected each year, so you can expect a “knock on the door” once every five years. But also, reassessments will be calculated every year by Mr. Haney’s office and adjustments made in valuations according to real estate sales”
Here is a link to a skeptical letter sent to us by a resident regarding real estate taxes.
If any of you want to do some research, you should note that there were court cases in the past brought by homeowners who thought that they should not have to pay Neptune real estate taxes on land owned by the CMA. The courts ruled that all home owners in the Grove, whose homes are sitting on land that they do not own, must nevertheless pay those land taxes. There was an appeal, I believe to the State Supreme Court, which ruled that the homeowners must pay. You should know that back in the day, some very influential people, CMA supporters, lived or owned houses in the Grove and that they had influence in Trenton.
These decisions are reminiscent of the recent ground rent rulings against condo owners.
I checked the Neptune web site (tax appraiser’s office) and could not find the Rizzo inspection information, but I did find this:
“The Assessor ( currently Bernard Haney) is responsible to the citizens of Neptune for the fair assessment of all property in order that the tax burden be distributed equitably. This office strives to keep the public well informed on all tax assessment matters.”
If any of you locate the inspection information on an official site, please send us the link for posting.
Here is a song for Bernie Haney:
Yes this is legal. The County has been doing the tax assessments since 2013. We have had this discussion before. There is info on the County taxation page along with a copy of the law that changed it from a municipal led assessment to a county responsibility.
https://co.monmouth.nj.us/page.aspx?ID=134
Scott: As I explained in the post, this is all I know. It was passed on to me as a Facebook post by our Committeewoman Carol Rizzo. Then information I put out there is incomplete. I was hoping someone of our readers might have a clue, but so far no one has amplified on what we were told. If you really want to know more, call the Neptune tax appraiser’s office on Monday. If you find out more, please let us know. We need more citizen reporters.
Paul, can you please share more information about this. Is this something that we are mandated to participate in?
Can someone please explain if this is legal and if we have to let them inside our home? I feel that this will hurt us more than help us.
Is what they are doing common? Legal? It bothers me because I’ve never heard of this and I don’t need my tax assessment unfairly increasing even more.
I won’t be able to afford to live here anymore at this rate. Is that what they want…to push all the old timers out and also those new owners who helped turn this town around. Disgusted.