City's ratable base more than doubles Average assessment jumps to $469K from $248K BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer A county-ordered reassessment of all taxable properties in Long Branch has resulted in a doubling of the city's ratable base, according to the city tax assessor. The reassessment concluded at the end of January, according to Tax Assessor William Fitzpatrick, who said it was carried out to bring all taxable properties in Long Branch up to 100 percent of market value. "All [property] values went up in the city," said Fitzpatrick in an interview Tuesday. "The housing market has gone very high," he said, adding, "property values increased and with the redevelopment underway in the city and the desirable location near the shore, sale prices have just dramatically increased." The reassessment was conducted by Realty Appraisal Co., West New York, which received a $300,000 contract last year to reassess some 9,432 taxable properties in Long Branch, according to Fitzpatrick. After the reassessment, the average property in Long Branch is assessed at $489,187 a jump from the 2006 average assessment of $248,802, Fitzpatrick said. Overall, property values in the city increased by 209 percent, he said. The "dramatic" increase has left some residents, especially those living in the Elberon section of the city, less than satisfied, according to Fitzpatrick. "Some property [values] doubled, others tripled," he said. "The increases are not directly connected to a certain area of the city," he added. "It is more on an individual basis. It varies." Fitzpatrick explained that some Elberon residents whose homes are located near the ocean would have seen a larger increase in their property value than Elberon property owners near Norwood Avenue. Several residents who saw their property values double, triple or quadruple, have complained to the city, Fitzpatrick said. An exact number of complaints was not available, he said. "A lot of people are coming in," he said. "We are holding informal reviews for property owners to speak with the [reassessment] company. "They can let the company know things that they may not have been aware of," he said. "Maybe their property floods." The informal reviews, or hearings, are free and Fitzpatrick said they could help lower the assessment of a property. If a property owner is still not satisfied after the hearing, they can file an official appeal by April 1, which requires a fee to be paid to the county, Fitzpatrick said. The total value of all taxable properties in Long Branch is a changing figure at this point, due to the hearings and possible appeals, Fitzpatrick noted. As of Tuesday, the value of all taxable city property after the reassessment was $5.2 million, more than double last year's $2.5 billion. Although values have increased, Fitzpatrick said there is a good chance that the average property owner could see a tax decrease of $362. "If the budget remains the same, the expected tax rate would be a lot lower," he said. Last year's tax rate of $2.44 per $100 of assessed valuation is expected to drop to an estimated $1.28 per $100 of assessed valuation, Fitzpatrick said. Reassessments in the county are ordered by the Monmouth County Board of Taxation when the ratio of assessments to fair market value falls below 85 percent, according to Fitzpatrick, who said Long Branch had fallen to a ratio of 66 percent when it was ordered to undertake the reassessment. "We have to bring Long Branch properties up to 100 percent market value," he said. "For example, if a home in Long Branch is assessed at $200,000 but sold for $400,000, that ratio would be 50 percent," Fitzpatrick said. "The reassessment will determine what the current market value is," he said. Unlike a revaluation, which includes exterior and interior inspections of all taxable properties, the assessment only required an inspection of the exterior of homes and businesses. Long Branch last underwent a revaluation in 2002 and properties were last at 100 percent of market value in 2003. The city has since continued with a redevelopment plan that includes the construction of several luxury condominium projects along the city's oceanfront, which Fitzpatrick said in an interview last year, may have contributed to the mandated reassessment. The reassessment does not provide additional money to the municipality, according to Fitzpatrick, who said it just equalizes the tax burden. As a rule of thumb he explained, one-third of properties reassessed experience a tax increase, one-third experience a decrease and one-third remain the same.