Tax appeal hearing was unpleasant for residents
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

HOWELL - Residents of Howell took the witness stand at the Monmouth County tax office on June 6 to appeal this year's revaluation of their property.

HOWELL

Several citizens who appeared before the Township Council shortly after that hearing was held described that experience as shameful and unpleasant. Jean Schron and Claudia Malik expressed their grievances to municipal officials by reading a letter during a council meeting.

The revaluation of every property in Howell was conducted over the past year in an attempt to bring each property's assessment up to its current market value.

The end result of the revaluation process means that some people will pay additional property taxes as the total tax levy for the municipality is redistributed among all property owners.

Property owners had the right to appeal the assessment their property was given by the firm that conducted the appraisals.

Schron, who lives on a 5.25-acre parcel, saw her assessment rise from $164,000 to $389,000. She said a large portion of her property is wetlands and includes a riparian buffer.

According to Schron, taxpayers who challenged the new property assessment that had been placed on their home and property were treated like criminals and cross-examined during the hearing in Freehold.

Schron said the commissioner who had been assigned to that day's case load allowed the township's legal representative "full range to use whatever tactics they chose to intimidate, harass and at times threaten the taxpayers who were appealing their cases."

Schron expressed her displeasure with the entire proceeding. She said the process "was about how much information could be suppressed."

Malik, who also appealed her assessment, said, "I felt like I was being put under the microscope."

In a subsequent telephone conversation, Malik described the experience as being wrong. She said she felt like she had been slapped in the face. She said the township "went about this absolutely wrong. They sent us to the sharks and hired attorneys to fight us on our rights."

Monmouth County Tax Administrator Matthew Clark said, "the Monmouth County appeal process was designed to be a quasi-judicial yet informal experience where the layperson could have their property assessment grievances heard by a professional independent body that would render judgment based on the testimony presented."

The commissioner assigned to hear the cases "affords the same latitude to the municipality that is given to the taxpayer," Clark said.

According to Clark, "even though some taxpayers may have found the hearing process to be unfamiliar and abrasive, it is a well-controlled, semi-formal legal proceeding focused on the collection of fact-based market value evidence that remains flexible to those appearing before it."

Saul Wolfe, of the firm Skoloff and Wolfe, of Livingston, who represented Howell, said, "There were over 300 appeals heard. Most people who appealed were pleased with the way they were treated. When three individuals out of 300 complain about the proceedings, you have to put that into prospective.

"We spent hours on the phone with taxpayers and were courteous to everyone who called. We've bent over backward to help them understand the rules and meet their obligations. The problem is that in the legal process individuals are allowed to be their own lawyers. Those who we felt gave inaccurate and false testimony were questioned vigorously," Wolfe said.

With the exception of the three people who were displeased, "the vast majority were pleased and left with a greater understanding," Wolfe said.