Large Companies Challenge Middle Property Assessments

COURT HOUSE — Adding to Middle Township’s potential budget woes this year are several large commercial entities that have challenged the tax assessments on their local properties.
Located in the township’s business districts along the Route 9 and Route 47 corridors, there are a total of eight properties with a combined assessment of nearly $88 million and 2009 tax bills of more than $1.1 million.
Between the municipal and fire district tax rates, the entities paid approximately $1.30 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The commercial properties, their assessments, and taxes paid were:
• TD Bank, $2.2 million, $28,079
• DMG NJ (Chapin House), $3.5 million, $45,154
• Wawa, $3.2 million, $42,142
• Delco (Grande Center), $34 million, $441,850
• WalMart, $18 million, $234,794
• Rio Grande Shopping Center, $12.6 million, $163,854
• Walgreens, $4.1 million, $53,366
• Conifer Greenbriar, 136 condos, $75,000 per lot, total $10.2 million, $102,000
Solicitor James Pickering brought up the tax appeals at the Feb. 17 Township Committee meeting, saying he was looking for direction about how he and Tax Assessor Joseph Ravitz should handle the disposition of these cases.
Should they hire an outside tax attorney, settle the cases or approach committee on a case-by-case basis?
Committee authorized the two to proceed in their best judgments.
In addition to last year’s tax bills, officials said the appeals could affect the 2010 budget process. Because the cases are likely not going to be heard for some time, the companies will likely appeal their assessments this year as well, Ravitz said.
How are similar tax appeals going for other Cape May County municipalities?
According to the Tax Court Web site, judgments for January showed that Dairy Maid Confectionary appealed its 2009 assessment of $6.2 million for its Boardwalk property in Ocean City. In that case, the Tax Court adjusted that total by $1.3 million or 20 percent, leaving an assessment of $4.9 million.
Also, the Port Royal Hotel on Ocean Avenue in Wildwood Crest won a tax appeal reducing its $11.3 million assessment by $945,000; and the Cedar Square Shopping Center on Route 9 in Ocean View reduced its Upper Township assessment by $1.4 million from $8.6 million to $7.2 million.