I was told your property can be raised when I appealed my property years ago. However, I suggest you call the tax assessor in Jersey City and asked that question.

Question for Yvonne or anyone who might know....

Lets say a homeowner goes for an appeal...

Just to be clear, I know the process; I did this when I bought my place in '93. The assessment was too high based on the '88 reval and when compared to all the houses around me. I went through the process including recent comparable sales/assessments and successfully got the assessment lowered to the purchase price of the property.

So the question is this: if someone goes in for an appeal, can the tax assessor not only deny your appeal, but actually RAISE your assessment based on what they perceive to be the current market-value of your property?

In short, can an appeal actually back-fire on a homeowner resulting in a HIGHER assessment?

From WSJ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001 ... 04574290151758305342.html

Using the Rout in Housing to Lower Taxes

New Tools Help Owners Get Reduced Valuations; Saving Big in New Jersey

By M.P. MCQUEEN

Kim Davidson lives in Bonita, Calif., a San Diego suburb hit hard by tumbling property values. Earlier this year, she made the best of a bad situation and appealed her tax assessment. The county reduced her annual tax bill by more than $1,000 to $3,500.

?I did the whole thing online and walked [my application] down to the mailbox, and a month and a half later, I learned I saved all that money,? says Ms. Davidson, a 44-year-old account manager for a business consulting firm, who purchased the home last year. ?It was incredible.?

View Full Image

Kim Davidson
Kim Davidson?s correspondence with local tax officials. She cut more than $1,000 from her annual bill.
Tens of thousands of homeowners across the country are trying to wring something positive from an epic real-estate crash. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which includes Cleveland, hit hard by rising unemployment and foreclosures, nearly 23,000 property owners applied for property-tax reductions this year, up from an annual average of 1,700. Appeals in California?s Sacramento County soared to 12,000 in 2008 from a typical rate of 1,800 a year earlier.

The number of property owners seeking a tax reduction in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, soared to 6,000 this year from about 1,000 annually in recent years. About three-quarters of those who filed appeals succeeded in having their valuations lowered, most by 30% to 40%, county officials say. The county already had reduced valuations across the board for the vast majority of its residential property owners, says Michele Shafe, assistant director of the Clark County Assessor?s office. She said staffers had to work overtime and Saturdays to keep up with demand for reassessments.

Many of the Nevada appeals came from homeowners in recent developments. ?That is where people were paying $400,000 for homes that are now worth maybe $150,000,? Ms. Shafe says.

Many homes nationwide were last appraised prior to the housing crash and are valued for tax purposes at levels higher than today?s home prices. ?If you have a three-year period between assessments and the last one was in 2007, your assessment is still at the top of the market,? says Jacqueline Byers, director of research for the National Association of Counties in Washington, D.C.

Homeowners who want to appeal their assessment in many cases can handle the process themselves, although it?s important to be prepared before going in front of an appeals board, tax experts say. People who want help can hire a property-tax consultant or attorney, but should expect to pay a fee, often 25% to 50% of the amount saved in the first year. And enlisting the service of a real-estate appraiser can cost up to several hundred dollars.

There are also a growing number of local and national online services that use automated property-valuation models to help consumers determine whether they may be able to reduce their property taxes. Initial evaluations are often free at these sites, which include EasyTaxFix.com and LowerMyAssessment.com. For a fee of $50 to $100, users can obtain forms with data already filled in and instructions on how to appeal, and a list of recent sales of comparable properties. Ms. Davidson of Bonita used EasyTaxFix.com to help with her appeal.

Such online services may be able to give you a convenient ballpark estimate of whether your home is overassessed. Tax officials say these sites? results can be supplemented with information from other sources, such as local real-estate agents. Government tax officials also warn that scam artists have been trolling developments in California and elsewhere touting phony property-tax reduction services in direct mailings.

Bringing Home the Bacon

More consumers are appealing their property taxes as home values fall. Here are some tips:

Move fast. You have a limited time to appeal after getting your tax notice.
Check first for errors in property records.
Deliver solid evidence in making your case, including comparable property values.
Nick Osnato, a real-estate appraiser in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., says he conducted his own appeal in March and succeeded in getting his tax assessment lowered by $30,000, saving him about $150 a month in property taxes.

?I looked for sales of homes that were the same size as mine, with the same lot, but that had a lower assessment. That?s it,? he says. Mr. Osnato estimates home values in New Jersey are down between 10% and 20% from a year ago, depending on the area.

Winning an appeal mainly requires producing enough evidence to convince the tax assessor or an appeals board that your property assessment is based on inaccurate or outdated information, or is unfairly high compared to similar properties. In some areas, homeowners have as little as two weeks to file a notice of appeal after receiving their tax bill, but 30 to 60 days is more common. That means homeowners have to be ready to scramble when the tax bill comes.

Check on whether you qualify for special property-tax reduction programs such as special exemptions for people age 65 and over. Then, examine property records for inaccuracies, especially square footage. The assessor keeps on file a property record-card that contains your lot number, zoning category, address, sales records, land value and dimensions, as well as significant features as recorded by the town appraiser. Check it closely for errors, including inaccurate descriptions of the property (say, a three-car garage instead of two). Also check whether significant defects like a leaky basement, which could lower the value of the property, are on record. Nowadays, many municipalities put this information online.

While you are at it, check the assessor?s math, particularly with respect to assessment formulas. Some areas use full-market value, replacement value or sales price. Others use a fraction of the market value.

Next, locate three to five comparable properties and check your property against them, making adjustments for differences. Sales data are available from your local government, or a licensed real-estate agent.

?Look for disparities that cannot be explained away, like the age of other properties or better lot configuration, or view. If those things can?t explain why the assessment is so much higher than others, you may have grounds to appeal on equitability,? says Pete Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, an advocacy group.

If you think your property value is unfairly high, your next step is to contact your local assessor. If the property information on record is inaccurate, the assessor may be able to lower your assessment without a formal appeal. But if an appeal before an appeals or equalization board is necessary, you will have to produce evidence to support your complaint. Bring an appraiser?s report, if you have one, and records of comparable sales along with any other supporting documentation, such as photos, a surveyor?s report and contractors? estimates. If your appeal is turned down, additional appeals usually are heard by a state court.

For more information about how to file an appeal, a brochure is available for $6.95 from the National Taxpayers Union at www.ntu.org.

Experts say there are few drawbacks to applying to reduce your tax assessment. However, if you made additions and improvements to your home that were never properly recorded with your town?usually through a building permit?you might not receive a reduction, and could conceivably face an increased assessment.

Robert Chambers, administrator of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision, which handles appeals in the Cleveland area, says the most common mistake homeowners make is failing to bring enough evidence about the house.

?Most of the time if a person is denied, it is because of lack of evidence,? Mr. Chambers says. ?They say here is a similar bungalow or ranch, but they don?t adjust for age, square footage, etcetera, which is everything that a certified appraiser must do,? he says.

He suggests refraining from using a hearing as a forum to vent your rage at high taxes. ?You are filing a legal affidavit that says the auditor?s value is wrong and I have evidence to show you that,? he says.

Write to M.P. McQueen at MP.McQueen@wsj.com

My assessment is just under 200K and my taxes are just under 12K.

I get so frustrated with people complaining about property tax abatements. Since 90% of the homes in Jc have an assessed value well below their actual value why should new constructuion be taxed on their full value?

Quote:

To claim that Healy winning is the fault of residents living in abatement buildings is a bit disingenuous considering the reality is downtown is the ONLY ward with an independent candidate winning in a LANDSLIDE. The poll numbers show Healy enjoyed widespread support throughout all wards of Jersey City, and Ward E was definitely not the ward where he enjoyed the most support as percentage.

Healy trounced the opposition throughout all wards and I doubt there could have been 26,000 additional tax abated residents we could have found to show up for DanL to defeat Healy. You are obviously entitled to your feelings but the facts don't really back them up.

Plus, it's been discussed over and over on this forum that pilot(abatement) taxes, while they sound like they are a sweet deal, are not really lower than regular taxes because simmilared valued properties on regular tax are assessed at 1/3 of market value so the ratio times the tax rate is in the same ballpark. And abatements they are not tax-deductible nor can you renegotiate should property value fall as in FGJCNJ1970's article.

Not sure about you, but I certainly cannot sensibly afford nor think it is a great steal to pay 12,000 a year in tax before maintenance for your average 2 bedroom. How much more should the taxes be for a new 2 bedroom? 24,000? 36,000?

I think we have similar end-goals but the reality is Healy is supported everywhere for whatever reason - most likely apathy.

Yvonne, I like your idea in theory and it's worth some debate. Unfortunatelly, I think in practice this probably will not lead to more efficient government or lower total taxes, deduction or not.

Saw this today on MarketWatch online and thought I would post here.

Time to file those tax appeals.

Funny thing is, while other communities hold the line on taxes, Jersey City keeps raising them and spending like there is no tomorrow. Not cutting a thing - like bloated salaries.

FG
--------------

A fresh assessment
Winning a property-tax reduction on your home
Story Comments Screener (67)
Alert Email Print Share

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Communities are feeling the sting of tumbling property values as more taxpayers appeal their assessments -- and successfully lower their tax liabilities.

Take the Las Vegas area, an area hard hit by price declines. More than 6,000 taxpayers -- including both residential and commercial property owners -- filed appeals in Clark County, Nev., after receiving a notice of value card in December, up from nearly 1,400 appeals received the year before, said Michele Shafe, assistant director for assessment services in Clark County. Of the 6,000 who filed appeals this time around, more than 4,500 received reductions to their assessed value, she said.
Good time to buy rentals

Property prices are down and rental demand is up, says Wally Charnoff, CEO of InvestorLoft.com, which helps buyers determine what they can afford. He talks with MarketWatch's Jonathan Burton about why this is a good time to buy income property, and what to watch out for if you hold real estate in an individual retirement account.

"That's about a 76% success rate for all the appeals that were filed," she said. Many of the reductions hovered around a 30% to 40% range, she said.

That represents a substantial hit for local taxing bodies that have already suffered due to a sharp decrease in sales tax revenue as consumers scale back their spending. One way government is making up for it: County departments will be required to cut 5% out of their budgets as fewer funds make their way into government coffers, she said.

And what is happening in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas: Many local governments around the country are experiencing similar revenue declines -- especially those hardest hit by the housing downturn.

"The property tax is the main source of revenue in a lot of these places," said Chris Hoene, director of policy and research for the National League of Cities. "So any hit to the property tax means that there will be some cuts in services somewhere."

Communities are making cuts to libraries, parks and special events, he said. Many also are instituting hiring freezes in response to lower revenues. And Hoene said that this is only the first or second year of a three- to four-year cycle of declining revenues for local governments.

In general, many communities aren't raising taxes to combat the shortfalls at least in part due to the political fallout that would come with it, Hoene said.

"The majority are not raising taxes, simply because it's a difficult time to do so," he said. Instead, he's seeing a bigger use of fees, which are "much smaller and more incremental... and much more politically palatable to the public."
Why now?

While some areas reassess property values annually, others do only a portion of homes each year, said Jacqueline Byers, director of research for the National Association of Counties. So some homeowners may still have assessed values that reflect, say, 2007 values -- and the discrepancy is evident in rapidly declining markets.

"They're watching the value of their property go down, and their assessment is on a two- or three-year-old value. That's why they're appealing," Byers said. "People are waking up to it and trying to save money."

California's system is somewhat unlike the rest of the country; reappraisals for property tax purposes typically occur when properties change owners or when substantial improvements have been made. But in Los Angeles County, the assessor's office has done a proactive review of assessed values, based on market trends in the area -- a process that also cuts down on the number of appeals, said assessor Rick Auerbach.

The review of 473,000 homes -- bought between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2008 -- resulted in lower assessments on 334,000 single-family residences and condo units, according to a release from last week. The new assessed values reflected an average $1,400 property tax savings for single-family homes and an average $1,100 savings for condo units, the release said. Yet Auerbach acknowledged that other areas in the state have seen even more of an impact.

"Home values have declined and foreclosures are up," he said in the release, "but not to the same extent as in some neighboring counties." And, he indicated, the relief is temporary: "My staff is ready to act quickly and efficiently in reflecting the inevitable turnaround as it did in processing reduced home values," he said.
What to do

Think your assessed value needs adjusting? Areas have different protocols and timelines for appealing an assessment. Below are some tips:

*

Start with the county assessor's office. In some places, you may be able to appeal online, others might require a trip to the assessor's office; some might require an inspection of the property, others might rely on computer models, Hoene said. The process could be relatively quick if it's obvious that a change needs to be made, Auerbach said.
*

Know what homes in the neighborhood have sold for. Prices of comparable homes that have sold in the past six months up to a year will be most helpful to build your case, Byers said. Information can be tracked down online, or get assistance from a local real estate agent, Auerbach said.
*

Remember, assessed value is often not equal to market value. Many times, an assessment is only a percentage of what the home could actually be sold for, so appealing might not be as financially advantageous as you might think, Hoene said. "Find out what it's going to take (to appeal) and what is involved, and judge that against the potential payoff," he added.

Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.

The 1988 Reval toss out Mayor Cucci and most of his ticket. Yet upon reflection, I must admit Mayor Cucci was a better mayor than McCann and Schundler. Non-bidding contracts and pay to play, and abatements happened under McCann and Schundler.
Yvonne

Voter apathy is not a problem. Voter apathy is THE problem. If you add in a reasonable number - say, 25,000 - adult citizens who were not registered voters at the time of the election, you get to somewhere around 140,000 people who could have voted for the mayor in May. A little over 16,000 voted for Healy, meaning that we have a mayor that about 88% of the people who could vote didn't vote for. If you went around any part of the city and generically described policies and behaviors of the mayor and his administration (including his gang of 8 council people), I'm sure the overwhelming majority would not support his policies and behaviors, on an unnamed basis.

We, the 6,000 people of JC List - a mere 5% of the city's registered voters, can sit here and scream and yell every time something like Crystal Point, Nidia Lopez, unsubstantiated tax increases, school administration patronage, indifferent policing, Steve "the urinator" Lipski, the mayor's drunken stupors, DWIs, drug-dealing councilwoman's son, etc. happens. And then what? The abatements will still get sweetened. Taxes will go up. The Floridian will represent Ward C and the rest of us will still get pissed on.

Until people actually reach this point, nothing is going to change

If you add the tax abated waterfront along with senior housing, public housing, affordable housing, and even rent-controlled buildings-a lot of people are not affected by the tax rate. That is why I am in favor of a city income tax that is deducted from a state income tax. More people must be affected by poor government in order to make change.

Quote:

Actually, icechute pretty much hit the nail on the head. While this is purely anecdotal and not scientific, I can tell you that at the last election, I and like-minded friends who live in single-family homes or small, non-abated buildings all made it a point to vote. We all voted for Fulop and mostly for Levin (none for Healy). Those I know who lived in the generously tax-abated big developments couldn't have cared less and didn't bother to vote. After all, why rock the boat when the system works so well for you? They weren't thrilled with the Healy administration, but they're at least getting a huge discount on their taxes for the next 30 years. That explains the dichotomy - enough of us pissed off downtown residents turned out to re-elect Fulop but our numbers weren't significant enough citywide to unseat Healy.

Quote:

Voter apathy is certainly a problem. Your conviction is likely misplaced since last I checked, downtown is the only place that has a non-Healy machine councilman who won in deciding fashion.

It is mindnumbing. People want transparency. I say it couldn't be more transparent!

The funny thing is the old timers talk about the Hague days and how great it was. They say, yes it was corrupt, it was very corrupt, but we were taken care of.

This is a City where the people do not feel like they are taken care of and they certainly do not feel like they are heard.

What is the hardest for me to understand is that many of these people are wonderful resources willing to give time and effort into making the City a better place to live as well as saving people money, but it is all about a power struggle.

I digress... go, go, talk about revals!

So the State, not the municipality, dictates how the reval on commercial properties will be handled? Or the State dictates both and the municipality has control over neither?

Quote:

Althea,

Frustration: yes.
Directed at you: no.

I am assuming that this is frustration and not directed at me. I am only discussing reval.. not this broken City.

But if this is directed at me like I approve how this city spends our money then you clearly have no idea what I am about.

Quote:

Except for the summers, the council meetings are in the evenings. But I have also attended state, freeholders, and board of ed meetings. Many of these are in the evenings. You can be involved or just "shoot your mouth off." I choose to be involved.
Yvonne

Icechute,
Could you imagine the carnage if a thorough forensic audit was done on this city? Many would probably end up in jail.

Quote:

I came to realize that your statements must be carefully-read and fact-checked as a result of reading your statements. Dont have time to search the board, but am sure I am not the only one who realizes you either deliberately mislead or dont know you are doing it often enough to describe it as a pattern.

Being able to go to weekday council meetings that occur during the workday is a luxury that many don't have.

Attending public meetings for 30 years, collecting public documents, and having a username that identifies who you are does not mean you are never wrong.

Thanks, but no-thanks to appearing on your show.

Quote:

Ok. Let's assume that after a reval, everyone pays their "fair share".

Now, let's discuss whether you are getting a decent value for your thousands?

To me, a far larger issue is not what I'm paying (within reason), but whether the $$$ will continue to disappear in a bottomless sinkhole of nepotism, mis-management, greed and corruption.

Knowing everyone is paying their "fair share" is little consolation when I know it's all still going to Healy, Comey, Flood & Son, Vega, Gaughan and Miss Florida, Nidia Lopez.

Prove to me with facts that my statements are inaccurate. I have attended public meeting for over 30 years and have received public documents over that same period. Saying I am inaccurate also means you must prove it. Your statements are not dogma. It is amazing, people who do not attend public meetings and hide behind a phony name have the nerve to announce someone is wrong. If you wish, I will give you this courtesy-be on my show, SpeakNJ and prove to me how I am wrong.
Yvonne

Althea,

Agreed. And was not saying that the commercial vs. residential property tax treatment was fair. Just wanted to make clear that having the assessment of one class increase while the other decreased did not show anything underhanded on the city's part.

From my perspective, it makes little sense to blame the city for things that State law dictate. However abatements, pilots, revals, revenues, expenditures are things over which the city has control are fair game and the city has done nothing but butcher it all.

Agree that all the issues you mentioned need to be addressed. This city's finances are so bad that selling and moving out of here is a real possibility. This city will continue to lose people who did not come here to find cheap rent for a couple years but who came here intending to plant roots and raise a family. They will be replaced with a population that is majority transient. Great if you like Hoboken, not so great if you want a stable family oriented urban community.

I hope you are wrong about Yvonne having a better grasp of these issues than many on this board because often statements she makes are misleading and sometimes blatantly inaccurate.

Like many on this board, I wish I had the luxury of being able to attend council meetings more frequently, but they usually begin before many get home from work.

shakatah,

That's fair and I think you make a lot of sense. I also happen to agree with your principals and share them.

I know blanket statements like Yvonne's suck, but I also know she attends every council meeting and has a wider grasp of the issues than most of us. I just think that it is hard to tackle such an issue with so many moving parts on here.

For example, tax abated property owners pay their fair share (quite a bit more) while many of the rest of us grossly under pay (that would be me). I think I should pay my fair share. The attack on people in abated homes is stupid. It is what happens to the PILOTS that is questionable since they aren't included in the budget and therefore more of the tax burden falls on the rest of us.

I don't object to paying my fair share and I don't object to a reval. I would just like to see the formula fairly devised and applied.

I get that it is legal to classify commercial property differently, but to the property owner that sees their taxes go way up while their neighbor with property of equal value (regardless of classification) goes down, ask yourself if you think that is fair? Is it? Perhaps you think it is depending on how fair the formula is. I don't think it is fair... property value is property value and income is generated from both types of property. One person greatly benefiting from one type of income is rewarded and the other is punished. If they were taxed equally on their property values that would make sense.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I think this is all very confusing and appreciate the dialogue to help see the various perspectives.

Althea

Quote:

Althea,

She actually said "If a reval happens, taxes will just go up. Every place went up in 1988 reval except commercial (reduction) and ward F."

Split hairs if you like but it is no secret that "I dont want a reval because taxes will increase" is used by Yvonne and others. If not corrected, such statements could easily lead readers to believe that a citywide reval will increase taxes when it doesn't. A reval is not a tax increase.

The difference between the two four families you mentioned is that one is classified as commercial while the other is a residential building. They are different classes of property and therefore are treated AND taxed differently.

Nothing sneaky or unjust about the city treating and taxing different classes of property based on their classification as they are required to do so under State law.

So rather than asking ourselves if it is fair that a four floor commerical brownstone is taxed/assessed the same as a four floor residential brownstone (different property classifications), the two questions we should ask instead are:

1) Is it fair that a four floor residential brownstone (1 family) which could sell in today's market at $1.2 million and a condo (1 family) which might be half the size and value of the brownstone has a tax bill and assessed value 2 times that of the brownstone?

2) Is my answer to this question consistent with my principles?

Quote:

And then he did the United Water deal and since then, my water bills have risen faster than the sewer backups in a heavy rain.

Bret Schundler won the special election in 1992 based partly on the fact he was active in the Coalition of Fair Taxation a citizen group fighting the flaw reval. The 1988 reval hurt the majority of the city, exceptions: commercial property, rent-control buildings, and ward F saw a decrease. An unknown won based on the fact that people saw their taxes rise. I don't remember the exact number of people runnning for mayor, but I believe it was 10 or 12 candidates.
Yvonne

Oh god... I love my tax abatement, now more than ever!! If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have moved to JC. Sorry haters!

My understanding is that there is more than one way to reval, that it is not just based on fair market value. My understanding is that back in 1988 the City actually put in qualifiers.

So say for example you were a four family residential next to a four family with a the ground floor being commercial space and even though your assessment value is the same, the formula worked out so that the 4-family saw their taxes triple... fair enough BUT the 4 family with commercial space saw their taxes drop despite an already low assessment, well this is where people felt the inequity came in.

So while revals seem fair on their face value, there are various formulas a City can use that can actually mean those luxury buildings on the waterfront (at least if there are any not abated) that have commercial space on their property can see their taxes lowered. There is leeway in how to reval without a doubt. Nothing is as equal as it seems.

This is my understanding based on the information I have gathered from many different residents around back in 1988 that I trust very well. So I could be wrong. Perhaps you can see where these folks are coming from though if this is what happened.

Yvonne did not say everyone.

If I thought that this reval would be equitable for everyone, (except that there would be some assistance for seniors on a limited income so they wouldn't be forced out of their homes) and my taxes were to double, well then I would be the first person shouting for this no problem. But not only will there be a tax hike rolled into this, there is also how the reval will be calculated to consider.

Please correct me if I am wrong.


Quote:

I suggest to go to the Public Library and look at old copies from 1988 from the Jersey City Reporter and the Jersey Journal. There were many stories on the 1988 Reval. Commercial properties saw their taxes drop greatly. There are documents galore. Ward F went, rent-control buidings, and commercial properties went down. In fact, former mayor Gerry McCann did a reassessment of commercial properties in 1989 when he won against Mayor Cucci. Many commercial property owners sue and won and received their lowered assessments. Taxes downtown saw increases from 200% to 500%

Quote:

Yvonne,
I wasn't around during the US Civil War either, but I know the North won. Facts are facts.

You stated that a reval will cause taxes to go up for everyone. That is a lie. No research needed. It's just not possible as a direct result of a reval and a reval only. A reval redistributes the tax burden more fairly, it does not increase taxes. A tax increase, and nothing else, causes taxes to go up for everyone within any given taxing district.

You also stated that commercial properties and Ward F property valuations went down. I dont know if that is accurate, but if as you say your assessment increased signficantly then someone elses assessment must've decreased. Meaning your property was under-assessed and commercial and ward F property was over-assessed. Correcting inequities is exactly what a reval is supposed to do, but I guess you would've been fine if Ward F and commercial property owners continued to be overtaxed to your benefit.

Fair is fair Yvonne. The city's tax policy should be fair to all property owners. Under-assessed and over-assessed properties should be asjusted up and down respectively to a level which distributes the tax burden as fairly as possible. That's good public policy.

Railing against the council to do their job, stop passing the budget toward the end of the fiscal year, and trying to hold them accountable, while supporting a NEW local income tax and a property tax policy which is so utterly unfair is hypocrisy, as what you are basically saying to city government is "increase tax revenue, just take no more from me".

shakatah- You were not around in 1988, the year of the reval. Taxes went up because commercial properties taxes and multi-family buildings went down a lot.
I did research for the Coalition of Fair Taxation, a citizen group that opposed the reval. The numbers were slanted.
Yvonne

This is what you get when most of the City Council could care less about the citizens of Jersey City. Money bought the election, what it could not buy was an educated, articulate council that would work for the people. If you have attended any of the meetings and or watch channel 1 you would see the following.

Gaughan - he looks like most of the time he could not be bothered and will we just get the meeting over with and rubber stamp the vote.

Sottolano - Whenever there is something he objects when Fulop comes up with an intelligent debate, you hear Sottolano make comments like, we already discussed this, lets move on, its because he can't have an educated debate, another rubber stamp.

Brennan- A goon, he can never articulate the point he is trying to get across, so he rambles on and tries to grandstand like he know what he is talking about, and how far does he have his nose up Healy's ass.

Flood - is she even awake at the meeting? She is worse than Brennan when with it comes to articulating anything. I guess she wakes up in time to rubber stamp the vote.

Lopez - Is she even a JC resident? If the folks from Ward C needed to get in contact with her in her ward, where will they find her? At the debates during the election she read word for word of her script, never looking up at the audience, even reading off the script, another one this can articulate anything.

Vega - lets just call him Healy's rubber stamp.

Richardson - for the most part she comes of caring, and seems to have a grasp of the issues and debates accordingly. Though she does vote the Healy way most of the time.

Kenny - not sure about him yet, he does come across articulate and grasps the issues.

Fulop - educated, articulate, understands the issues, looks at the positives, and negatives of the issues and how his vote would effect the people of Jersey City.

T-Bird,

I find focusing on whether individual taxes will increase or decrease a bit problematic..i.e. If my taxes will increase, I cant support a reval but if they will decrease then do the reval yesterday.

Having a fair tax system should be a given, and its not. A reval makes it more fair. That alone is reason enough to do a reval. Appealing your assessment year after year yeilds the same result but residents should not have to spend years fighting to be treated fairly.

With and without a reval we have winners and losers, but updating all property values by doing a reval is more fair than what is currently in place and that should be the primary concern.

I could easily appeal my taxes each year resulting in a reduction in my assessment and keep my mouth shut while I watch other residents stuggle with unfair assessments. Nobody wants to pay more in taxes, but the city has a responsibility to treat residents fairly. It is not doing so. In fact, I latched on to this issue after successfully appealing two years. And I will appeal for the current tax year based on what the data reveals. Residents should not have to take such action on something as simple and basic as fair taxation.

I admit being idealist and thinking that instead of everyone only looking out for themselves and allowing city hall to operate the way it does, together we should make them extremely fearful of retaliation for being faithfully inept.