the amount of tax increase due to municipal taxes is about 13% based on the not yet approved proposed budget which reflects an almost 40% increase since 2009.

county and school increases, included in the tax bills have been less bringing the total percentage increase in your tax bill down (26%) since '09, as seen below in jsqfunk's post.




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Jersey City's municipal elections are non-partisan.

In Jersey City, as in Hoboken, the 3rd and 4th Q taxes are always higher to make up shortfall from late budget finalization. When I look at the tax history of my unit from the last 10 years, long before we owned it, this pattern is present. In some cases there is a huge swing. This year the raise for 3rd Q was only $29.

The worst was in fall 2008 in Hoboken when taxes went up 40%.

I called the Tax Office, and was told that the 3rd quarter bill is an estimated bill, because the budget was not finalized.

In the 4th quarter, the bill will reflect the approved city budget figures and my tax may either go up or down

Any bets on the direction it will take?

The more interesting question: was Shelley Skinners 15% increase down to the ongoing City revaluation. If so, can we expect more of the same across the City?

15% is one of those suspicious numbers. Generally on assessment appeals, you cannot appeal a City assessment unless its over 15% from current market value, based on comparable sales. If the same rules apply during the reval, it has some disturbing implications:

1. The company doing the reval has a lot of "wiggle room".
2. If it's the same 15% margin of error, they can effectively mark-up people properties by that amount.
3. Overall across the City that could mean a 15% increase in City property tax.

My 3rd quarter bill is up 3.9% (vs. 2nd Q 2011), assuming my 4th quarter bill is the same as my 3rd then for the year I will be up 1.97%
For those keeping score here are my yearly increases over the past few years

2011 1.97%
2010 15.0%
2009 8.1%
2008 0.1%
2007 7.2%
2006 12.4%
2005 0.0%
2004 0.0%
2003 1.5%
2002 -0.2%

I live in a condo near St. Peter's college.

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Seems that way....

I think this story overall was sticker shock from a couple of people, and the Hudson Reporter publishing the story without checking the facts and doing the math.

Shelley Skinner's increase is mostly down to a change in assessment, not an increase in rate charged. Tad Druoet's claim of 4.5% increase is comparing quarter versus quarter, not year versus year. Year versus year Tad's property tax is on track for a 2% increase.

The sentiments are entirely understandable given the crazy increases in past years. This year though, it looks like we're getting a 2% increase.

It's public record - you can check assessments under
www.hudsoncountytax.com

and third quarter bills under:

https://www.cityofjerseycity.com/WebTaxInquiry/AccountSearch.aspx

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So, the ancient art of "thinking and making conclusions" is lost forever?

ok Boris, I'll ask you first, prior to voting and calling my congressman. Thanks.

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Simple, - because this is U.S.of A. and not Soviet Russia. There governors are appointed by the President, mayors are appointed by the Governor, and a police chief in a small town reports to the police general of the district and that in turn reports to the Ministry of the Internal Affairs.

That system is built to ensure that the power, the whole power is concentrated in one place, up above, and is unreachable to the citizens.

US system is the opposite. The idea is to keep the power as low as possible, - with two goals: (1) reduce un-freedoms. THis way if people of Jersey City want to have street cleaning on Mondays, and people of Hoboken prefer Tuesdays, - they do not need to march in lockstep. (2) when we directly elect people who get to execute the local power, - WE control that power, not someone in Washington.

You idea is very counter-cultural to that. If we do not like what local government does, we need to throw them away, and elect someone else. What we should NOT do, is we should NOT federalize City governance, for if we do, we are screwed, - USSR-style.

P.S. The big problem here is - many people tend to vote along the party line, - as a form of showing party loyalty, - instead of voting "who will not bankrupt this city" line.

My bill went up just below 4% from the prior quarter. I guess year-on-year it will average just under a 2% increase.

I did a random look at 3rd quarter bills at http://www.hudsoncountytax.com/

Most looked to have the same percentage increase. Skelley Skinner's increase looks like it was reval-related - her assessed value went up from 170k to 200k. That could have been some building improvements or the city reval. She should check with the JC tax office as to why her property card was changed if she thinks its wrong.

Yes we are entitled to representation by our Congressman. He represents us. Why would you not contact him? It can't hurt you, and our local officials don't care.
Every other city is conforming to the 2% cap..why not JC?
This should be all over the media!
And yes I did complain to Sires

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Sorry, since teachers's post had a US Congressman's website address I thought he was proposing that we write to US congressman to complain about local taxes. When you quoted this and added to it I thought you were saying fire a politician on the federal level when this particular issue is City/County and to a lesser extent state.

If the website address had been the mayor or council or even state I would not have said anything.

Again apologies.

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Never did I propose such a nonsense.

What I proposed is to fire the people who can't do the job of the City governance properly and vote for someone else.

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Teacher & borisp,
What good is it going to a US congressmen (Sires) for local tax rate issues?
Shouldn't we be going to our City council people, Mayor and possibly state reps for our messed up and overly high city taxes?
And borisp, My sentiments mirror yours. The Mayor and City council should be fired. They do not react or listen to complaints.

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Don't you think it is really weird that we need to complain about OUR OWN EMPLOYEE?

Why not just fire him?

complain to your congressman,
2% cap?
http://sires.house.gov/

+1

Here is an idea, - if we want different, we need to vote.

When we chose who to vote for, the qualifying question should be "does he know how to manage the money".

And not "does he support our favorite National Political Party?"

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/fu ... ce=lead_story_left_column

Is municipal budget to blame?
Residents get quarterly tax bills, sticker shock
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Jul 03, 2011

Last week Jersey City residents started receiving their most recent quarterly property tax bills in the mail, and some people don?t like what they see.

In a year when the mayor promised to keep taxes stable some residents say they?re being hit with tax increases.

Longtime resident Shelley Skinner, who lives in a downtown brownstone purchased about five years ago, said last week she ?almost had a stroke? when she received her third quarter tax bill on June 30.

?Our taxes have gone up steadily every year for the last three years,? said Skinner. ?I was particularly alarmed by the most recent bill because if this represents what the quarterly payments are going to be for the rest of the year, it?s going to amount to a pretty staggering increase.?

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?People in the suburbs don?t even pay the amount of money that we pay in Jersey City.? ? Tad Drouet

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She said her most recent tax bill ?is a good $1,000 more than they?ve been in the past. I want to know if I?m looking at a $4,000 tax increase for the year, which would be huge.?

Some of the increases property owners are seeing are attributable to increases in county and school taxes, and the local municipal government is not entirely to blame for the increases residents are now seeing in the quarterly tax bills.

But some residents question whether the city is exacerbating the tax burden on residents by failing to finalize its 2011 spending plan.

It has been about four months since Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy introduced his $477.3 million 2011 budget. The Jersey City Council held a public hearing on the spending in May. Since then, although the council has met with agency directors and has held budget meetings with the administration, no formal action has been taken on the budget. Instead, each month the nine-member council votes ? usually 8-1 ? in favor of temporary appropriations.

Without an approved budget, the city has to estimate its monthly expenses and doesn?t have a clear idea of what it can spend for the year.

Skinner estimates that she paid about $12,000 in property taxes last year, an amount that includes taxes for Jersey City, Hudson County, and the local public school system. Last week she said she fears she is on track to pay an estimated $16,000 in property taxes in 2011.

?That?s a few hundred extra bucks a month,? Skinner noted. ?That?s not small. It is not sustainable for anybody. Nobody is receiving wage increases that are in line with that. Nobody has income that is anywhere close to keeping pace with these property taxes.?

Some of the tax increases residents have seen in recent years were attributable to hikes in county and school taxes, and the local municipal government is not to blame for county and school tax bills.

Plugging the deficit

Last week alone the City Council approved temporary emergency appropriations for $6 million. Thus far, more than $330 million has been allocated in temporary emergency appropriations since the beginning of the year.

Councilman Steven Fulop has been the only member of the governing body to consistently vote against these regular temporary appropriations.

Since the budget was introduced there has been debate over whether the final approved spending plan would include a municipal property tax increase or not. Mayor Healy has said property taxes would be held steady. The mayor?s opponents have said since the beginning of the year that they believe there will be a tax increase.

The city has been operating with a deficit of about $80 million. The Healy administration has cut services, reduced staff, and has continued mandatory furlough days for municipal employees to help close that budget gap.

But other steps will be needed to close the deficit ? steps Fulop said aren?t being taken.

?If you ran your household like this, you?d be homeless. If you ran a company like this, you would be bankrupt,? Fulop said last week. ?You cannot spend this money without any sort of plan. The temporary appropriations are a real issue because the council is basically giving a blank check to spend money.?

Last week Business Administrator Jack Kelly reiterated the city?s plan to sell the City Hall annex for $15 million, income that would also be used to close the budget gap. But it has been reported that the state does not believe this $15 million price tag is realistic. (Previous potential developers have offered sums far less for the site.)

But Fulop called this sale ? even if it happens ? a ?one time quick fix, a gimmick.?

The mayor?s spokesperson did not respond to questions about the budget process by press time.

The councilman has floated his own spending reduction plans, which have included combining some city agencies and which have sometimes proved controversial with his colleagues on the council.

Fulop, however, said the other council members seem too willing to kick the budget can down the road.

Is there a Plan B?

?What?s Plan B?? resident John Thieroff asked the council members last Wednesday. ?I?ll tell you what Plan B is: There is no Plan B. I?m asking you people to take leadership. Vote one of these [temporary appropriations] down?Send a message that there needs to be accountability. There needs to be a process. We can?t just have money going out the door with no plan attached to it.?

Residents like Skinner and Tad Drouet fear that a tax increase is Plan B.

?I just got my [third quarter] tax bill, and ? surprise ? it?s up by 4.5 percent over last year?s [third quarter] bill,? said Drouet. ?In five years since buying our home, our tax bill is up more than 50 percent (much more than 50 percent if you just look at the municipal side of it). I don?t want to have to move, but come on, is there any end in site??

Skinner asked the same question.

?To put it in perspective, people in the suburbs don?t even pay the amount of money that we pay in Jersey City,? said Skinner. ?My former boss who lives in Westfield and has an acre of land pays $20,000. Who are we kidding here??

E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.