Property Reval to Begin in Cape May

CAPE MAY — As a result of an order by the County Tax Board, the city contracted with Vital Communications, Inc. of Trenton, to perform a complete revaluation of all real property within Cape May.
Vital Communications, Inc. presently serves over 300 municipalities in the state.
The revaluation program is the task of measuring, inspecting and collecting data for all properties in the city and then estimating the current fair market value of those properties.
In New Jersey, properties are to be assessed at 100% of value as of October 1st of the pre-tax year. The estimate of the current fair market value of all property will be as of October 1, 2009 and will become the tax assessment for the 2010 tax year.
The revaluation is not being conducted to raise money for the city, county or the state.
According to a press release from Cape May, the sole purpose is to estimate a fair market value for each property, thereby equitably distributing real estate taxes.
During the revaluation program, all properties are physically inspected and outside building dimensions are noted, to help insure the same standard of value. This achieves the purpose of equalizing property taxes.
A notice will be mailed to each property owner in the city prior to a field representative visiting their neighborhood, advising them that they should expect such a visit in a few weeks.
Property owners are requested to allow access to the property for inspection of the interior. Exterior measurements of all buildings will be taken.
All employees of Vital Communications will have a photo identification badge and letter of introduction signed by city officials. Residents should ask to see these documents prior to allowing the interior inspection of their property.
All Vital employees and their automobile descriptions will be registered with the city police.
Upon final review of all data and calculations, the revaluation firm will mail to each taxpayer a notice advising them of their new assessed value. The notice will also explain how to arrange for a personal informal review to discuss the proposed assessment.
Once the revaluation program is completed, the new tax rate for the 2010 tax year will not be determined until the new assessments are filed with the County Board of Taxation and operating budgets for schools; county and local government is fixed.
Budgets are not completed until several months after the filing of the tax list. Taxpayers should not apply the 2009 tax rate to your new assessment.
Due to the anticipated increase in the overall taxable value of the city, the 2010 tax rate will be lower than the 2009 tax rate.