An arictle printed in the Courier Post this morning discussed the Voorhees property tax assessment. The article title and excerpts are as follows:
Tidings of No Joy Arrive in Voorhees
By BILL DUHART - Courier-Post Staff
The township has completed its first revaluation in nearly 20 years and some property owners are seeing more than five-fold increases in the assessments of their homes.
The typical property owner will pay $259 more in taxes as a result of the revaluation, a township official said.
Local officials said Thursday they know many residents are upset by the jump in valuation but that state law requires the township to periodically reassess property to achieve "true" or "market" value for taxation. Officials also stressed increases in the value of homes are accompanied by a drop in the tax rate, which should result in a third of residents paying more taxes, a third paying less and a third remaining about the same.
"It redistributes the total taxes collected," said Mayor Michael Mignogna. "It does not increase the total tax collected by the township."
In other words, the township currently collects $88 million in taxes to fund the municipality, schools, the county and the fire district. That amount will remain the same, but some property owners, particularly those in older dwellings that haven't been recently assessed, could see the highest increases.
The new overall tax rate for all collections will be $2.09 per $100 of assessed value. That's down from $5.53 per $100 of assessed value. But the new average assessed value rockets from $133,467 to $365,516.
Usually a revaluation means a homeowner's property can appreciate by about 2 1/2 times before taxes would increase. But Township Administrator Larry Spellman said a decrease in some business tax revenue and more homes in the township since the last revaluation in 1987 resulted in a $259 increase for the homeowner whose property increased 2 1/2 times its value.
"Once we get below 70 percent value the county puts the pressure on us for a revaluation," Spellman said. "If we didn't do a revaluation now we could have dropped into the mid-50s. The value of homes here have gone up so much."
The township's total value jumped from $1.6 billion in 1987 to $4.2 billion, Spellman said.
20 years is a long time to wait to reasses property values. The Voorhees Township officials certainly shouldn't be surprised by reactions from Voorhees residents. There is a review process if you believe errors have been made.
REVIEW PROCESS
Taxpayers can call (800) 809-6876 to schedule appointments at township hall through next month with representatives of the company that did the revaluation. Mistakes about the size and detail of properties can be adjusted, township officials said.
Use the following links more information on Voorhees Real Estate or the Camden County Real Estate Market Conditions