Consumers in 2024 are accustomed to modern technology automation (e.g., Netflix streaming, Chat GPT4, etc) but locals governments are slow to catch up. I share that contrast to frame the idea of property reassessments, which is the process of keeping assessed values (the value on your tax bill) updated, or in synch with, market values...Continue reading
This work paper is a visual of Jersey City’s 2023 long-term tax abatements available from the 2023 “User Friendly Budget” which is available from the city’s “Municipal Financial Reports” page here. A few pertinent details about this visual and the underlying document: The “User Friendly Budget” is a secondary budget form in addition to the...Continue reading
This workpaper is a visual of the “Property Tax Tables” available from the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) website. A picture of that site, as of this writing is below: A few facts about this public site, why it’s important, and why I visualized it: 1–This is where the state publishes standardized property tax...Continue reading
NJ's Department of Education released its state education aid summaries for the 2023/24 academic year and Jersey City is set to lose another $51 million next year. This will amount to $276 million in state aid reductions since the "S2" law was passed in 2018. Jersey City will likely lose $134 million by the time...
Jersey City lost another $68 million in state aid on March 10th, 2022. This cut was expected, part of the phased “S2” cuts that have been reducing Jersey City’s state aid by $100+ million just in the last three years alone. A question I continue to get is: why is state aid being cut, anyway?...
A "levy" is the amount raised in property tax to fund a government budget. Typically, a levy is one of multiple sources of revenue that fund total expense. In 2021, Jersey City is poised to both fully fund its schools and also enter a new paradigm with respect to property tax. Let's review what's happening...Continue reading
Sharing an open letter and thoughts that I read into the record at the City Council meeting on Oct 7, 2020. I’m publishing it on CivicParent as part of a new area of content related to Jersey City’s increasingly outdated assessed values and the growing need for another revaluation. The last revaluation was in 2017/18....Continue reading
This is part of a series about the 2019/20 proposed municipal and schools budgets in Jersey City. Jersey City’s proposed 2019/20 municipal budget shows that over $120 million in PILOT fees are expected to be collected in in the coming year. What is notable about PILOT fees is that they don’t contribute to the school...Continue reading