Tax bills spark need for damage control
Millstone tax collector offers ways residents can seek answers and relief
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - Residents seeing red over the rise in their taxes should understand that 89 percent of their tax bill goes to the school district and Monmouth County.

Dawn Mitchell, Millstone's tax collector, gave a presentation at the Township Committee's Aug. 15 meeting that provided a breakdown of the recently distributed tax bills.

"The township rate has been steady for the past three years," Mitchell said. "The school is just about where all the increase falls."

Mitchell said residents often ask her where their taxes go and how the levies are determined. She explained that the tax assessor places a value on each property and said that the amount can only change if the property is improved or revaluated or if a tax appeal is won.

Tax bills include a section that shows how much state aid an individual gets toward his or her property tax, Mitchell said.

"If we did not get state aid, taxes would rise by that amount," she said.

Most portions of the tax bill decreased this year, except for the school district's portion. Last year, the school district's portion of the tax bill amounted to 73.94, or approximately $24.2 million. This year, that portion rose to 75.69 percent, or about $27.5 million.

The county's share of the tax bill decreased from 15.04 percent last year to 13.61 percent this year, Mitchell said. The municipal tax decreased slightly from 3.74 percent of the tax bill last year to 3.42 percent. The fire district's portion also had a slight percentage decline, from 3.21 percent in 2006 to 3.11 percent in 2007.

The municipal open space tax rose to 2.28 percent of the overall tax bill this year from 2.08 percent last year, or from $679,205 last year to $830,145 this year.

The county open space tax almost remained the same at .85 percent of the bill this year compared to .86 percent of the bill last year.

The county library rate decreased slightly, from .86 percent of the bill in 2006 to .78 percent in 2007. The county health department's share declined from .28 percent last year to .26 percent this year, according to Mitchell.

Mayor Nancy Grbelja said the Township Committee does not control that 76 percent of the tax rate goes to the schools. She said the school district's portion and the county's 13 percent account for a total of 89.3 percent of the total tax levy.

"A significant amount of money is going to those agencies," she said.

Committeeman Elias Abilheira commented that the county's tax rate has decreased each year, "which shows how well Monmouth County is run."

Mitchell said that there is some tax relief available to residents who qualify for it.

She said that honorably discharged veterans who served during wartime can get $250 off their tax bills. Seniors and people with Social Security and disabilities may also be eligible for $250 off their tax bills, depending on their incomes, she said. Mitchell also mentioned that the state's homestead rebate plan could provide some relief, saying that homeowners should have already received information about the rebates in the mail.

Applications for the Property Tax Reimbursement program, more commonly known as Senior Freeze, must be filed by Oct. 31, according to Mitchell. She said the program sets a base tax rate for eligible seniors and reimburses them for any paid increase in property taxes. The state has set the income requirements for Senior Freeze much higher than those set to be eligible for the senior deduction, she said.

According to the state's taxation Web site, residents applying for the 2006 reimbursement must have a total income for 2005 that is less than $41,972 for single applicants and less than $51,466 (combined income) for married couples, and a total income for 2006 that is less than $43,693 for single applicants and $53,576 (combined income) for married couples.

Mitchell said that eligible applicants could apply for more than one of the relief programs that she mentioned.

For more information about the recently distributed tax bills, call the tax collector's office at (732) 446-3983, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with calls taken until 7 p.m. Wednesday.