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New Jersey Road, Rail Projects Suspended
The New Jersey Department of Transportation has suspended approximately 100 state-funded road and rail projects in their early stages while the State contemplates how it will finance needed infrastructure improvements in the future. This announcement follows yesterday’s resumption of work resumed on many transportation projects that NJDOT Commissioner James Simpson had ordered stopped last Friday. According to Simpson, the original stoppage was due... Read More
Rise in Appeals Causes Municipal Budget Crunch
New Jersey municipalities are facing serious budget deficits, as they experience the fallout of reduced property tax revenues resulting from a record number of property tax appeals filed in recent years. Property owners who are successful in tax appeals are entitled to refunds under New Jersey law. These refunds have created troublesome deficits at the... Read More
Newark Church Denied Property Tax Exemption
Church Not Exempt and Subject to Foreclosure for Failure to Pay Taxes A New Jersey appellate court has affirmed a trial court’s ruling that will allow the City of Newark to foreclose on a warehouse property owned by Yes Lord Ministries, Inc. Yes Lord, a religious organization qualified for exemption from the payment of taxes under federal law... Read More
NJ Supreme Court Rules That Replenished Beach Area is Public Property
Long Branch Property Owners Denied Compensation for Beach Expansion The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled yesterday that beachfront land created by government replenishment projects is public property, and does not become part of the private property owned by adjacent property owners. This ruling was made in an eminent domain case involving beachfront property in what... Read More
$6.5 Million Recovered to Clean Up School Site Acquired by Eminent Domain
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority has obtained $6.5 million dollars from three former owners of a 14 acre property in Camden to pay for the cleanup of environmental contamination of the property, which is adjacent to a Camden Elementary School. The property is the site of the old Stockton Station apartment complex and will... Read More
Property Owner’s Appeal Dismissed for Failure to Follow Court Rules
The Appellate Division affirmed a New Jersey Tax Court judge’s decision to dismiss a property tax appeal for lack of prosecution after the property owner failed to offer any proofs to establish fair market value at trial. The property owner, a practicing attorney with 30 years of experience, argued that the taxes should be lowered... Read More
Appraisal Reports Must Be Produced
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has released a published opinion in Tractenberg v. Twp. of West Orange, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2010), which required the Township of West Orange to release an unredacted copy of an appraisal report prepared for the Township’s Council following an OPRA request by the... Read More
Taking of Gallenthin Property Approved
A Superior Court judge held last week that the Gloucester County Improvement Authority properly exercised its power of eminent domain and may proceed with the taking of a portion of the Paulsboro property owned by members of the Gallenthin family — the same family that was successful in stopping a previous effort to take their... Read More
Old Bridge Adopts Ordinance Restricting Eminent Domain
Old Bridge Councilman-at-Large Brian Cahill and local resident Tony Piscetti successfully convinced the Old Bridge Township Council to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the use of eminent domain for tax revenue purposes that was previously discussed on this blog. Following discussions on the ordinance at a June Council meeting, both Republicans and Democrats voted in favor... Read More
Local Property Taxes Likely to Increase Due to Budget Cuts at State Level
Property taxes will be higher in 379 New Jersey towns this year according to an article in the Asbury Park Press . According to the APP, the average property tax bill will be $7,694. The article highlights how property owners have voiced their frustrations at town council hearings, and how property owners’ frustrations will likely... Read More
