Photo Paul Devine in Allenhurst
Paul,
While riding our bikes in Allenhurst today my wife and I came across the solution to Ocean Grove’s parking problem. Apparently, winners of the car raffle have a designated spot.
How creative.
Paul Devine, Citizen reporter
Editor’s note: (Paul Goldfinger.).
If only our town would pass an ordinance to take special care of OG home owners. But Neptune (the town, not the planet) seems to have little interest in our issues; so, even if breaking up is hard to do, perhaps we citizens should take another shot at seceding from the Township ; we could even merge with Allenhurst. Or we could become the northern part of Palm Beach.
NEIL SEDAKA (who once got out of a limo in front of the Great Auditorium and revealed himself to be four feet tall.) But he put on a fine concert including this song about secession (comma, comma):
If OG doesn’t secede from Neptune, at least we should build a wall along the Neptune border and make them pay for it.
Jack,
Ocean Grove should be it’s own borough. An unfair tax burden is the most frequent reason given for secession.
However it would be difficult to pry the cash cow known as Ocean Grove from Neptune. One obstacle is the fact that a number of residents cannot vote, as their primary residence is other than Ocean Grove.
That being said, we are generally being fleeced on our tax assessments. When the property tax cards are received later this year, if any resident feels they are over assessed an appeal should be filed.
Assessments are determined by recent comparable sales. In Ocean Grove, comparable sales are difficult to establish due to the uniqueness of our homes. It’s not as if we live in an area of similar tract homes. If enough of us appeal, we can show a trend of capricious and inaccurate comparable sales data and poke holes in the faulty data of the appraisal company.
The appeals process is easy, but you must do your homework and have facts to prevail.
There are attorney’s who will file the appeals for you. Customarily, the fee is a percentage of the tax savings for a certain period of time. Nothing to lose.
Until and unless there is a secession from Neptune, a massive tax appeal is the quickest way to gain some equity with the rest of the Township.
Ocean Grove is a unique town, unlike any other town in N.J.
It should stand on its own as ‘THE BOROUGH OF OCEAN GROVE’.