Ours jumped nearly $1700 for the quarter! One more FU from the great Oz Jerry Fried on his way out the door. What an unmitigated disaster that numbskull and his cronies were. Thanks so much. It's no wonder people are being forced to flee this town.

My assessment went down by 6.6% and yet my taxes (using .03252) went up by 17.7%?!?!?!? Can that possibly be right? Is it certain that the rate is .03252?

3.25% in property taxes and my pregnant wife has to hold her belly still as we drive the streets in this town shaking to our core as we navigate the pothole minefield. Meanwhile I sit through a parade on the 4th and watch a police force proudly stocked with sharp new Dodge Chargers while parade marchers do all they can not to twist an ankle walking down midland. If you want to continue to attract high income 30 something's from the city you better make sure they don't bend a rim or bruise their pregnant belly as they drive the streets discovering the town.

The Manager CURRENTLY says, on the website:

>$4,000 286 properties
>$6,000 70 properites

A few months ago her reported:

>$4,000 381 properties
>$5,000 266 properties

According to his prior analysis, 2,418 properties say their taxes go up >10% because of the reassessment.

Unfortunately for the taxpayer, assessment bills came July 2012. The deadline for appeals was May 1, 2012. Coincidence?

And, yes I do know that people "should" have been paying attention and should have done the calculations! But fact is, they don't. Not everyone reads Patch or Baristanet to keep up with these things.

The anonymous township explanation posted in the Patch brings “blame the victim” to new lows.

While many homeowners may have sought relief from their onerous property tax by appealing their assessments, the idea that THEY are to blame for this outrageous tax increase, rather than the ongoing financial irresponsibility of the township, is laughable.

When I received notice on Friday that my property taxes would be going up from an already-ridiculous $24,000 to an I-must-be-an-idiot-to-live-here $28,800, I thought for sure it was a mistake. Seeing this “notice” from the town shows that it was actually another well-calculated attack by the township upon its own citizens and upon the property value it so desperately needs to tax.

I would love to see the press reveal which parts of town received the generous tax cuts and which received the increases and why. And I’d love to learn how Montclair got around that 3% NJ state limit on property tax increases.

Meanwhile, I’m going to get a “For Sale” sign for my front lawn, if there are any left.

I am asking what homeowners can do if they disagree with their bill. Should have something posted today or tomorrow at the latest. Thanks.

Johannes, I would also like to see an analysis of which parts of town, or which price brackets, received cuts vs. increases. I have a feeling we'll find the assessments are skewed in some way. The constant message that this is the result of "bad" citizens who appealed is beyond insulting - this could have been avoided years ago. But we live in a town in which anyone who suggests that our town finances could be better managed is painted as a card carrying Tea Party member. Which is the worst thing you can call someone here. I'll never vote for a Republican, never have, but I still don't like seeing my town officials waste my tax dollars and then blame the taxpayers themselves for seeking some relief.

Our property assessment was reduced by 140k (14.5%) from last year, and our taxes somehow increased by about 11%. I beleive this is a result of the higher tax rate, but it still doesn't add up to me.... We have lived in the area for less than a year, and we love it, but news of this increase is really difficult to swallow. Like eveyone elae our taxes are already super inflated. Woooosah....

We are newcomers and knew we would be paying high property taxes, but were shocked by the notice we just received. Apparently our taxes are going up 20% from a figure that was already excessive. Aside from our personal anger and outrage over such a sudden and dramatic increase, I have a few fundamental questions about the taxes, where they go, and the implications:

1. Is it even legal to raise taxes so suddenly/dramatically on homeowners? We're talking an overnight notice that one's annual expenses increased by thousands of dollars! Was there any discussion to make this gradual?
2. Where on earth does the money go?!? Montclair is a nice town with decent schools, but there are many nice towns with decent schools where the taxes are not nearly so high. And one can actually walk on the sidewalks in these towns (Montclair's are atrocious) and drive without bottoming out in the innumerable potholes. Again, where does all the money go?!?
3. Why would anyone without school-age kids live here? I cannot imagine paying these property taxes unless my kids were getting the benefit of a good education. Why would an empty nester stay? These increases must be crushing retirees.

We like Montclair but question our decision to move here. And we can't be alone. The tax rate is non-sustainable and the disparity between the cost and the benefits is mind boggling. Paying $20k property taxes on a $600k house?!? Montclair simply must do more with less — like everyone else in this economy.

Seven years ago, when we purchased our lovely house, our taxes were a mere 20k, now 39k!!!!!!! An outrage, we simply can't afford this, as much as we love this town, we too will need to place that "for sale" sign on our front lawn.

Move to Little Falls and see a 50% reduction in taxes.....and you still can enjoy Montclair schools!

This should come as no surprise, as at least one candidate for township council had warned several months ago.

http://montclair.patch.com/articles/candidate-joe-kavesh-no-one-should-pay-more-taxes-as-result-of-reassessment

There is nothing you can do about appealing your TAXES. You can appeal you assessment, but as I've said a dozen times the last date for filing an appeal for 2012 WAS May 1, 2012.

Mind you, next year you can appeal for both 2012 and 2013.

An analysis, and a tool for homeowners to use, BEFORE May 1 st would have been a help.

But we are talking here about the deliberate decision not to do analysis.

I am trying to get more analysis done, with the help of my analytical "elves" who hopefully will soon be revealing their real names. It is they who deserve the credit for the hard work in crunching the numbers.

For "fun," commenters are pointed to:

http://wipp.edmundsassoc.com/Wipp0713/

to see the impact on everyone's taxes.

Cary - You can't appeal for 2012 next year. You'll only be able to appeal for 2013 (and if you prevail, you will have a lower assessment going forward. If you did not file by May 1 of this year then you have lost your right to appeal for 2012 forever.

A $2mil brownstone in Bklyn has only $5-8k in taxes b/c NYC pub schls are segregated by race and starved for money. Pub schls in NYC are chronically underfunded so Mayor B can dump hundreds of millions on Yankees, Mets, and Nets to subsidize their new arenas. In NYC, prof'l families struggle to find the good pub schls for their kids; if they do get their kids in, these parents are then asked by PTA for up to $1200 each yr to fund staff, trips, equipment, books, enrichments NYC Mayor refuses to pay for. If parents can't get their kids into the known good schls of NYC, they try overbooked pvt schls costing $25K-35K/yr per child where the wealthiest have connections thanks to their donations. This is what makes a $30K Mtc tax bill a bargain for families moving here with 2-3-4 kids. $30K here buys good schls and safe parks, leafy streets, multiracial life, urbane civic graces. But, our end of the arrangement requires us to finance high quality schls with well-paid professional teachers and full-time aides in every classroom, with librarians and schl nurses in each schl, with reduced class size. If we do fully fund our pub schls, prof'l families who can't or won't pay $50k/yr to send their kids to pvt schl in NYC will buy here. Our BOE has sabotaged this arrangment by starving our schls, dumping money back into a dysfunctional TC, cutting foreign language, increasing class size, making war on teachers and aides. An anti-tax BOE undermines our kids and our property values.

Ira, you missed my point. If people WITHOUT children decide Montclair is not worth it,
then that $30k is a bargain formula doesn't work because right now that amount depends upon half the population sans children supporting the other half that do. In the end, our arrangement won't work if the town is a revolving door for people who come to use the schools and then leave.
We need a balance and need to appeal to a broad range of people who want to make Montclair a home, not just NYC parents whose kids can't get into good schools who will use the system and then leave on high school graduation day. We need retirees, singles, empty nesters, couples without children and people who live here yet prefer private schools. It's the only way it works. So yes, the town is a bargain for someone with 4 kids who comes to get they can out of the system - but that bargain is supported in large part by people who don't have kids in the system and we need to keep them here.

Releasing these numbers before the May 1st deadline would have been nice for another reason: the election that we JUST had.

A lot of the anger here seems to stem from bad communication from the city. When I first got our bill I was shocked and it appeared that our taxes had climbed by more than $5,000. In reality, if the info on the town website is accurate, I made the mistake of multiplying the quarterly bill by 4 to get my taxes for the year. Using their information the increase is "just" a couple of thousand dollars. BUT - we had won our tax appeal in 2010 which lowered our taxes a lot. Using the tax amount prior to the reduced assessment we are only up a few hundred dollars which seems reasonable to me. I always assumed our windfall would be reversed some day (just hoped it would be a bit longer in coming).

What I can't understand is why we aren't getting either a reduction in the school district portion OR a movement to restore lower class sizes. Seems indefensible in the current financial environment in the face of their huge surplus this year.

We appealed our taxes last year and got a modest reduction. We settled with the town attorney and our taxes went down less than 10% Now our taxes have been increase 35% from the post appeal level and 25% over the pre appeal level. I feel like we were duped, and perhaps punished for our appeal. I am curious about the percentage of people who appealed that got a tax increase

I am surprised that so many people are surprised at what just happened few years age we were re-accessed at the peak of the real estate market that got things out of balance and cost the town millions of dollars in appeal refunds (due to town council inaction). This recent reassessment is getting everyone on a level playing field.

As far as montclair expenses being out of control, duh. The bulk of the expenses are in employees and their benefits. We just had an election where the town voted against the people who suggested that they would reduce this. The folks who won said that they would keep all our employees and sell our services to other towns. Some people thought that this was an impractical idea, but most voters must have believed that it could work, because that is who won the election. At this point we have little choice but to see how this all works out.

We get the government we deserve.

I have a different "take" on things ....

People who choose to live in Millburn, e.g. Short Hills, tell me they are willing to pay the higher home prices in Short Hills because in Millburn they don't HAVE TO send their kids to private school whereas if the buy in Montclair they will.

Not everyone considers Montclair schools to be "outstanding."

I personally think that with strong parent involvement kids can get a lot out of Montclair schools.

WIth 3 kids of my own, I agree with Cary.

Or move to Glen Ridge, which has high taxes too, but has one of the best school districts in NJ ( according to NJ monthly.) We pay 28k, got screwed by the last reassesment, but have three little kids to send through the schools so feel it is worth it. Properties in SH and Millburn are positively prohibitive.

I wrote this MONTHS ago -- people will be plotzing when they get these tax bills! Hey, Montclairgirl -- maybe you should start considering voting republican. Since when is it so wrong to want to keep some of your hard earned money? Government never can, never will do things efficiently - local, state or federal level. People demonize the tea party and it's ridiculous. The tidal wave has been building in this country -- people are waking up to the insane spending and entitlement programs. It's not just montclair, it's everywhere you look. Starting at the federal level. I was a Karen Turner supporter, but I like what I hear from Jackson so far -- at least there is a plan in place to pay down the debt. Let's hope he keeps to these new promises. For now, our home values are down and our taxes are up. Welcome to what happens when libs are in power.

I'm guessing a few folks will be coming out to the town council meeting tomorrow night to ask questions/make their feelings known..

Hey Ira - Stop giving the Federal (or State) Government credit for lowering black poverty or closing the achievement gap. Blacks did that all on their own. The Black poverty rate in 1940 was 87%....in 1960 (before the War on Poverty/Great Society) it was all the way down to 47%.
It was lowered another 17% during the entire decade of the 60s and lowered by only 1% during the entire decade of the 70s....when these programs really took hold.
If anything the war on poverty - counter-intuitively hurt blacks. Read some Tom Sowell tsowell.com or some Walter Williams.

I would suggest folks come out tomorrow night to the council meeting and ask some questions.. I know I'll be there.

Meeting's at 8 p.m. Tuesday night by the way at 205 Claremont.

I've been told that any tax questions should go to the tax assessor's office. Look on the township website under "finances and taxes."

Thank you Mr. Simon for very clear answer to the false comparison of multiracial Mtc to segregated towns. On another point, when fed tax rates were high for millionaires(90%) and corporations(70%)most families in America did much better than they are doing now. This was the long postwar period of economic expansion and high taxes when bottom 80% of families raised their incomes more than did the top 20%. All families, that is, did well during the earlier period of high taxes(1947-1977)and govt. financing of robust public sector and social services, not just black families alone in this period. Reagan began era of tax cuts for the 1% and for corporations that has snowballed for 30 yrs now and the bottom 80% are in deeper and deeper trouble. Billionaire Warren Buffett calls it a class war of the rich against everyone else and he says his class, the rich, are winning, so he decently demands that govt stop coddling billionaires like him and raise taxes. This is what we can accomplish here in Mtc by turning to a progressive real estate tax to replace the regressive tax now in place. It will help all home-owners below 60% ratable level, including retirees on fixed income. Progressive taxation is the fair, decent and civic way to go if we want to maintain the property premium given to this town by well-funded public schools and public amenities.

A little help on figuring out if your taxes are up or down in 2012 vs 2011.

1. Multiply your old assessment by 2.561% - that's what you paid in 2011
2. Now, multiply new assessment by 3.252% - this is what you're paying in 2012

Which one's higher????

Forget trying to use percentages up or down and it's not worth the effort needed to explain why the Q3 payment times 4 is irrelevant.

The Q4 payment in November will be same as the Q3 figure you just received unless the final tax rate is different than 3.252%

Now isn't that easy?

Ira - you lost me at "Fair" Who decides what is fair? If all people pay the same %...by definition the rich pay more than the poor.

Thanks Randall.

Good info Peter Simon.

Stephanie -- GOP did not cause most of the problems we are dealing with now, that's bologna. I am not saying republicans are saints, but how can you even compare what the current administration has done to our debt?? A 1 trillion dollar stimulus that got us nothing -- Obama has spent more than if you start at George Washington THRU GW Bush. Look at unemployment under Reagan and Bush -- you really gonna go down that road?? America should return to Reagan's four proven policies for an enduring economic recovery: real and sustained tax relief, fiscal integrity, smart regulatory reform, sound monetary policy - period.

Nice try Ira. I agree with you but your idea requires compassion and a willingness to help those less fortunate than oneself. Call me cynical or perhaps a realist but most of the "1%" or "10" are not as altruistic as Warren Buffet.

Am sure I'll see many of you tomorrow night..

My comment on Short Hills, ie people are spending more to move there because of the schools, is based on things people TELL ME. It's based on discussions with many realtors, and with people I know who made the decision to move there.

And remember, although it may cost you more to buy a house in Short Hills, in 20 years your mortgage payment will be the same, and based on history your taxes will be lower than in Montclair. In 20 years there's no telling where Montclair's taxes will be in 20 years!

"The town was doing self-insurance which is ridiculously
expensive."

Are you sure? This - http://montclairnjusa.org/dmdocuments/R_12_150.pdf - is part of the July 17 meeting agenda. It implies that Montclair does currently participate in the state's insurance program.

It also states that the council is planning to cease use of that program. There's no mention of the replacement that I can see in that document or the rest of the agenda.

...Andrew

Andrew...The new town council has decided to pay back the county machine with a new contract from the firm that Joe D's son used to be head of sales for and is now their president. It appears the tea-partiers were right. :P

"Dashield also presented a report from IMAC Insurance in Belleville, who recommended a proposed resolution terminating Montclair’s agreement with the State Health Benefits Program, in which some groups in the insurance pool subsidize others so that all of them pay the same rate. IMAC recommended switching Montclair’s public employees to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, which they believe provides similar service and could save the township 11 percent over the year of the contract. They strongly recommended passing it sooner than later to have it effective within two months.

Who is IMAC? Well, the IMAC website doesn’t tell you much, but according to LinkedIn Joe G. DiVincenzo, son of Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, was formerly vice president of sales at IMAC Insurance Agency. Joseph Maurillo is currently associated with the company as president; he’s also part owner of Nanina’s In The Park. Maurillo appears to have made these political contributions and has a foundation. Nutley schools also appear to be using IMAC."

http://www.baristanet.com/2012/07/imac/

I want to write to acknowledge your post, Stuart. Thank you for the information.

I would like to write more on the topic, but - uncharacteristically - I am left speechless.

Is there at least a counter-argument to http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-28/new-jersey-cities-shunning-state-health-plan-lose-100-million-audit-says ?

...Andrew

The paybacks will continue. We already know the current council's position on outsourcing. The will hire more employees, and buy more trucks and equipment and to sell our services to other towns. We already know this doesn't work.

It could work, if the town was run efficiently. Which we all know is not the case here. After we moved from Montclair to Glen Ridge, we went in person to the Municipal Office to officially change our address with the town since we still own our old multi-family in Montclair. Guess where our property tax refund was mailed too? Yup, the old address. And other towns are going to buy services from them?

There's a resolution on the docket for tonight's meeting that calls for cutting the debt by twice the amount of any new spending. This will be fun to present to the council the moment they decide to spend. And judging from their history, they'll make Fried and crew and look like Scrooge.

How much did the tax rate go up in Montclair, from ? to 3.252%.....I live in Howell, and our assessments went down and tax rate up 25% to balance revenue. We had a huge townhall last night. Senior development saw 35% increase in net taxes.

People are starting to wake-up, But I think that most are not going to get active....just too complicated, time-consuming, and the system is stacked against us. It will have to break before real change comes, unless a leader can step up to end the ridiculousness.

The tax rate is now about the same as a mortgage.

My wife and I looked at other tax rates around Essex County. The only towns with higher rates are more urban than Montclair. Think Irvington, Newark, East Orange, etc. The Essex Fells and Caldwells and Cedar Groves are significantly lower. The only other town with a similar demographic to Montclair and similarly high taxes is West Orange. Though, one could argue that Montclair has significantly more commercial ratables than West Orange. Part of the equation is the average value of the average domicile in each of these towns. The towns where the average household is valued less, tend to have higher tax rates in most cases. This is where I think Montclair is unique. In 2009, Montclair's average home value was around 583K, while West Orange's was 402K. So why does Montclair buck the trend?

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/gtr11essex.pdf

It's surprising to me that so many here are now expressing shock at the rise in their taxes. When the results of the reassessment were announced, the town manager stated on numerous occasions and it was reported here and in the Montclair Times that the average decline in home value would be near 20%. If you came in above that you were going to be taxed higher, and I am guessing a healthy percentage of those properties belonged to folks who had successfully appealed in the past. It was also logical that the tax rate would have to rise to compensate for the overall reduction in assessed home value. FYI: while i agree with Mr. Shor and Mr. Simon that our taxes are a fair price to pay for the kind of suburban town and cultural experience Montclair provides to raise a family in, it is long past time to get control of the debt as well (not necessarily by declaring war on public employees, but negotiating respectively and realistically) and, yes, giving the new mayor a chance to grow revenues. the notion that we are going to dramatically cut teacher salaries and benefits and maintain the school system is delusional.

Millburn and Short Hills, ugh.