The City of Newark to Perform its First Property Revaluation Since 2013
The City of Newark, New Jersey on July 19, 2023 passed an Ordinance for a Special Emergency Revaluation. This will be the City’s first property tax revaluation since 2013. This revaluation has not been officially scheduled but has a targeted completion date of sometime during or before the 2027 tax year. This deadline was made understanding that logistical considerations may prevent the city from completing the process any earlier. The Ordinance provides for $4,000,000 to fund the revaluation process.
When a municipality performs a revaluation, all of the line-item properties in a municipality are inspected and reviewed by a qualified appraisal company and their assessment values set as of the October 1 date of the year preceding the assessment year. The goal of a revaluation is to ensure that all properties in a municipality are fairly and accurately assessed so that the property tax burden is correctly shared by all of the non-exempt properties. As a result of a revaluation, typically 1/3 of properties receive a decrease in their tax bill, 1/3 stay roughly the same, and the final 1/3 will receive an increase. Revaluations affect all classes of property in the municipality and can raise assessments on certain classes of property disproportionately if that class of property has had a significant increase in value since the last assessment.
Currently, Newark has a Chapter 123 ratio of 81.83%, which calculates the difference between the assessed value of the properties in the municipality and the expected market values. The City’s ratio of 81.83% means that the assessments represent only 81.83% of the actual perceived value of the properties. This ratio is not entirely abnormal when compared to other municipalities in New Jersey, but the council’s vote on this revaluation may be an indication that the City expects the ratio to drop significantly in the near future.
For property owners in Newark, you may wish to monitor this situation and understand that inspections of your property will be occurring as part of the revaluation in the future. If you, as an owner, are concerned about your projected property tax assessment under the revaluation, competent property tax counsel can help. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us for your free property tax appeal consultation. Contact McKirdy, Riskin, Olson & DellaPelle, P.C. to speak with an experienced property tax attorney.
