Tax Appeals Hot Topic in Town

Township Tax Assesor Eric Zanetti is listed as one of the key speakers at a property tax assessment and appeal seminar sponsored the Regular Republican Organization Club of Berkeley Township next Monday.

The meeting is slated to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. in the Central Regional Middle School cafeteria on Forest Hill Parkway, club president James Fulcomer said. Fulcomer is also vice president of the South Seaside Park Taxpayers and Voters Association.

"Every other revaluation has had a rather minimal impact," he said. "This revaluation hit really hard. We have people who are selling their homes because of this. Some have had increases of over 100 percent."

Many residents — especially those with waterfront and oceanfront properties —saw their property assessments skyrocket after the township's 2010 revaluation, the first in 20 years.

Some in town contend that last year's revaluation last year was faulty. They blame Certified Valuations Inc. and  Zanetti, who is also president of the Ocean County Tax Assessors Association, for some of the problems.

"The deadline for tax appeals is April 1," Fulcomer said. "We believe that anyone whose property tax assessment is above the true market value of their property should know all aspects of their right to appeal their assessments and to secure tax relief."

Tax appeals attorney Jeff J. Horn of Toms River, and Richard Carabelli of Lawrenceville-based Martin Appraisal Associates are also scheduled to speak. The Township Council hired Carabelli's firm earlier this year to review the accuracy of the revaluation.

Council members on Dec. 31 unanimously agreed to hired Philadelphia-based Dilworth Paxon for $20,000 to review Certified Valuations, Inc.'s contract to determine if there have been any contract violations.

The council on Jan. 4 also unanimously agreed to forward a letter written by Berkeley Township Taxpayers Coalition president Samuel J. Cammarato about possible contract violations and 31 pages of documentation to Dilworth-Paxon and to the state Attorney General's Office.

Next week's seminar will be the second in less than two weeks dealing with tax assessment problems and tax appeals. The BTTC held a similar seminar on Feb. 26 at the Berkeley Township Elementary School.

A lot of people, especially retired people, moved down here and all of a suddent they get the tax increase and can't afford to keep their homes," Fulcomer said.  "This is very sad for many people. A lot of people in town have properties assessed well over market value and many don't know how to deal with the process."

Fulcomer also invited attorney and former State Senator John O. Bennett III to attend the seminar. Bennett is investigating possible contract violations dealing with the revaluation, Fulcomer said.