What would you say if you found out New Jersey taxes just went up $540 million? Surprise! They have. And they will grow by a half-billion dollars each year because of the state’s highest-in-the-nation property tax — even with the 2 percent cap. State and local leaders have run away from cutting this burden on homeowners. Why? Who profits from your tax misery? Why is this tax driving people out of state? Paul D’Ambrosio, Asbury Park Press Read more
Thomas Sowell | Sep 29, 2015
Nowhere has there been so much hand-wringing over a lack of “affordable housing,” as among politicians and others in coastal California. And nobody has done more to make housing unaffordable than those same politicians and their supporters.
A recent survey showed that the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco was just over $3,500. Some people are paying $1,800 a month just to rent a bunk bed in a San Francisco apartment.
It is not just in San Francisco that putting a roof over your head can take a big chunk out of your pay check. The whole Bay Area is like that. Thirty miles away, Palo Alto home prices are similarly unbelievable.
One house in Palo Alto, built more than 70 years ago, and just over one thousand square feet in size, was offered for sale at $1.5 million. And most asking prices are bid up further in such places.
Another city in the Bay Area with astronomical housing prices, San Mateo, recently held a public meeting and appointed a task force to look into the issue of “affordable housing.”
https://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2015/09/29/the-affordable-housing-fraud-n2058059
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Tense contract negotiations between the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and Ridgewood Education Association (REA) ramped up this week.
“The negotiations are not going well,” said REA President Michael Yannone in a conversation with The Ridgewood News earlier this week.
While a number of issues remain to be settled, the main two are salary requirements and healthcare benefits, which are always paired in discussions, Yannone said.
“This board doesn’t believe they should have to negotiate health benefits,” Yannone said.
Without some leeway from the BOE, no progress will be made, he added.
Yannone also spoke at this week’s BOE meeting, flanked by Ridgewood teachers in a sign of solidarity.
“The teachers of this community feel disrespected,” Yannone said at the meeting. “Ridgewood was always a school district that prided itself as being at the forefront of education. Teachers felt respected here and believed their voice had value. Those days are gone.
“Teachers now feel as if they are merely nickels and dimes — a revenue stream for this board — with money going out, and more and more employee money coming back to this board,” he said.
This drew a standing ovation from the assembled crowd of teachers, who so packed the Education Center meeting room that many had to stand.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/contract-negotiations-heating-up-1.1418121
Ridgewood NJ, Freeholder candidate John Mitchell visited Ridgewood Train Station this morning after attending the GOP Candidates night in Hasbrouck Heights pushing a Tax Reduction and Strict Budgeting strategy .
It was a “Win-Win” at the Ridgewood train station this morning…
…It was a “win” that I was able to help a commuter understand the intricacies of the unfair school funding formula and how it impacts his ever rising property taxes. And it was also a “win” that I had a chance to meet hundreds of residents in this beautiful town.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2015, 12:30 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015, 12:49 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The Board of Education is once again exploring the pros and cons of offering a full-day kindergarten program in the district, but officials are concerned that coming up with the money to do so could be problematic.
Officials claim a full-day kindergarten program would require 10 additional teachers with an estimated cost of $1 million-plus.
Providing daylong kindergarten has been a longtime goal for Ridgewood’s educators, said Sheila Brogan, president of the village’s school board.
“We are one of the few districts that don’t have full-day kindergarten, and we realize it would be an enhancement,” Brogan said. “The question for us is: Is it feasible?”
The school board discussed the prospect of expanding its offerings during a meeting held late last month.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-again-exploring-full-day-kindergarten-1.1405082
file photo by Boyd Loving
Listen to what Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn has to say about the costs for a new parking garage.
Hudson Street Parking Garage
Walker Parking Consultant Study – July 5th, 2015
Walker Parking Floor Plans
Resolutions
Resolution 15-222 : Non-Binding Referendum – Nov 3, 2015 Ballot
By Tim Darragh | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 26, 2015 at 7:50 PM
Morristown Medical Center should pay property taxes on virtually all of its 40-acre property in town, a tax court judge ruled Friday in a decision closely watched by other hospitals across New Jersey.
Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco ruled that the hospital failed to meet the legal test that it operated as a non-profit, charitable organization for the tax years 2006 through 2008. Only the auditorium, fitness center and the visitors’ garage should not be assessed for property taxes, he said.
The decision, the hospital’s attorneys have said previously, could cost it $2.5 million to $3 million a year. The ruling applies only to the medical center’s property taxes, not to its federal tax status as a non-profit.
Other non-profits in New Jersey, especially hospitals and universities, have been concerned about the case, fearing that a ruling for the town – which also is in court for property taxes from the hospital for 2009 through 2015 — could encourage host municipalities to challenge their property tax exemptions as well.
June 8,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Sixty-five percent of moves in New Jersey are moving moving out of the state. Yes New Jersey is number one, but it’s nothing to proud of.
According to the 2014 Annual National Movers Study, New Jersey has the most number of people leaving the state.Last year, 65 percent of moves in New Jersey were people leaving the state.
In a News 12 New Jersey poll earlier this year ; when asked residents who thought they would be leaving why the bulk of the respondents said the reason for the move is property taxes .
May 7th 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, School taxes in the village are about to go up by more than 2 percent cap put in to effect , by Governor Christie in 2010. The cap limits increases in property taxes to 2 percent. There are several ways to get exceptions,which were pushed by Democratic lawmakers negotiating with Christie , who at the time pushed for a hard cap know on this blog as the 2 percent solution .
Towns, county governments and school boards in New Jersey can exceed the tax-hike limit for spending on debt payments, public employee benefits and response to disasters. The cap also doesn’t include many special fees that some towns levy for services such as trash removal .
Last week, the BOE adopted the district’s massive $101.2 million budget for the coming school year. According to the Bergen Record the new budget would will raise taxes over the next year by $194.65 on the average village home assessed at $690,662.That increase represents a more than 2-percent increase from last year’s tax.(https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-school-taxes-to-increase-more-than-2-percent-1.1326603 ) Click here to view the latest presentation on next year’s school budget, given at the April 27, 2015 Board of Education meeting.
Residents are reminded of the invitation to stop by for coffee and casual conversation with Board of Education members and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein on Wednesday, May 13 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place. All residents are invited to drop in to share their thoughts, questions, suggestions and concerns .
Also district parents and guardians have the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback to the Board of Education through the 2014-2015 satisfaction survey. The survey period runs from Tuesday, May 5 through Friday, May 15. All district parents and guardians with email addresses on file will receive an email link to the survey.
7 of the 10 counties in America with the highest property taxes are in N.J., study says
By Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
April 28, 2015 at 12:36 PM, updated April 28, 2015 at 1:12 PM
Counties in New Jersey dominate the top 10 nationwide for property taxes, according to data compiled by real estate Web site Zillow.
It’s no secret that New Jersey homeowners are hit with some of the highest property taxes in the nation. But just how high, relative to other parts of the country, might be a bit of a shock.
A typical homeowner in Bibb County, Ala., paid just $228 in property taxes in 2013,according to an analysis by Zillow, the real estate website. Compare that to someone paying the median in Paramus or Ridgewood in Bergen, who shelled out $9,546 — about 45 times as much.
Highest:
Westchester, N.Y., $13,842
Rockland, N.Y., $10,550
Bergen, NJ, $9,546
Essex, N.J., $9,288
Nassau, N.Y., $9,091
Passaic, N.J., $8,978
Union, N.J., $8,926
Morris, N.J., $8,549
Hudson, N.J., $8,407
Hunterdon, N.J., $8,392
MARCH 31, 2015, 11:49 AM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 12:12 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Home prices in the region ticked up 2.1 percent in the New York metropolitan area, including North Jersey, in the 12 months ended in January, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reported Tuesday. That was less than half the national increase of 4.5 percent.
The numbers point to a housing market that is still slowly recovering from the worst downturn since World War II. Home values are no higher than they were in 2004, both nationally and in the region. Single-family prices in the area are almost 19 percent below their peaks in mid-2006, while national values are about 17 percent below their peaks.
“Despite price gains, the housing market faces some difficulties,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Home prices [nationwide] are rising roughly twice as fast as wages, putting pressure on potential homebuyers and heightening the risk that any uptick in interest rates could be a major setback. Moreover, the new home sector is weak; residential construction is still below its pre-crisis peak.”
In Bergen County, the median price of a single-family home dropped 8.6 percent in January from a year earlier, to $425,000. In Passaic County, the median dropped 1.8 percent, to $275,000. Those numbers are from the New Jersey Realtors and reflect the mix of properties sold in the month; Case-Shiller does not track prices on a county-by-county basis.
New Jersey Ranks #1 in Highest Property Taxes in the USA
The 10 worst states for property taxes
Chloe Della Costa, Cheat Sheet 10:32 a.m. EDT March 21, 2015
U.S. property taxes can vary dramatically by county as well as by state. Since property valuation is complex and highly changeable with the market, value is not necessarily equal to cost or price. Depending on state law, property assessments are done anywhere from once per year to every five years. Then the value assessment of a home is multiplied by the local tax rate, or millage rate, to find the property tax amount owed by the homeowner. In states or counties where property taxes are generally higher, the burden can be great enough to persuade homeowners to consider selling so they can pick up and move elsewhere.
The Tax Foundation compiled Census data from 2004 to 2009 on property taxes on owner-occupied housing, ranked by state. States were ranked three ways: median property taxes paid on homes, taxes as percentage of median home value, and taxes as percentage of income. For simplicity’s sake, this list will focus on percentage of home value.
This methodology allows for a comparison that shows, all things being equal, which states would generally have the highest property taxes for a home.
https://taxfoundation.org/article/property-taxes-owner-occupied-housing-state-2004-2009
Reader says starting in 2018 the BoE and the Village will start having to pay a 40% tax on top of those benefits just because they are so valuable
But let’s raise taxes more to pay to subsidize all of the annual increases in healthcare premiums for our BoE and Municipal employee, right? While they pay a minimum amount out of pocket for what are classified as “platinum” plans under the ACA, the rest of us are paying for both our own health care coverage and then subsidizing public workers – how on earth is this fair? And starting in 2018 the BoE and the Village will start having to pay a 40% tax on top of those benefits just because they are so valuable, worth well over $22,000 according to divorce settlement findings on the value of the health plans. Why are Village taxpayers footing all of the annual increase, which was almost $700K (+12% compared to 2013) just for our municipal employees in 2014? This taxpayer give away has to stop, as this article says, we’re already have the fifth-highest average property tax bill in the nation and pay well over 2% of our property value annually in property taxes… we’re literally being taxed to death to pay for essentially free health care benefits. This has to stop.
Bergen County’s property taxes among nation’s highest
MARCH 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015, 2:33 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Bergen County homeowners had the fifth-highest average property tax bill in the nation, at $11,159, last year, according to a new survey by RealtyTrac, a California real estate information company. Passaic County’s single-family tax bill averaged $8,904, according to RealtyTrac.
Nationally, property tax rates average 1.3 percent of the property value, according to RealtyTrac.
Three New York counties — Westchester, Nassau and New York, or Manhattan — as well as Marin County in California had higher average property tax bills than Bergen, according to the survey.
The survey also confirms what Garden State homeowners have found out the hard way: New Jersey’s property taxes are among the highest in the nation, averaging more than 2 percent of a single-family home’s value each year. Passaic actually had a higher tax rate (2.98 percent) than Bergen (2.07 percent), apparently reflecting Passaic County’s lower property values.
Nationally, property tax rates average 1.3 percent of the property value, according to RealtyTrac.
REMINDER: First Quarter Taxes Are Due February 1st
First Quarter Taxes due February 1st
Please be advised that First Quarter taxes are due February 1, 2015.
There is a 10 day grace period for property tax payments. All payments must be received in this office by Tuesday, February 10, 2015 to avoid a penalty. Postmark is not accepted.
Please allow ample time for mail delivery. If you are using online checking, confirm with your banking institution that payments will arrive on time and be sure to include your block and lot number in the memo. We cannot make exceptions for payments still en route on February 10th. All payments received after the February 10th deadline will accrue interest from February 1, 2015. Payments may also be dropped off in the yellow Village mail box at the rear main entrance.
The Tax Collector’s Office offers an ACH bank draft program (direct withdrawal). This service assures your payment will be received in a timely manner as well as providing a safe and secure way to pay your taxes without the worry of mail delivery or coming in to pay in person. Quarterly property tax payments will be debited from your checking account on the payment due dates. See our website for details and enrollment applications.
A special reminder to those taxpayers who have recently completed improvements on their property: added tax bills, mailed out the week of October 12th are due in addition to your regular tax bill sent to you in September.
The Tax Collector’s Office, located on the 3rd floor in Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 201-670-5500 xt. 511. Visit our web site at www.ridgewoodnj.net to view property tax amounts due and other important information.
