Millburn press release says the Township
has received approval from
Essex
County for a one-year postponement
for scheduled reassessment for
2006.
The following release from the Township
attempts
to explain why. But there are still lots of questions.
The following release is exactly as it was given
out by Township officials.
PRESS RELEASE — FEBRUARY 14,
2006
The Township of Millburn
has formally requested and received approval from the Essex
County
Tax Board
for a
one-year postponement for the reassessment which was scheduled
for the 2006 tax year. The Township has requested a one-year
postponement of the reassessment. Instead of the reassessment,
the Assessor will submit the tax list he otherwise would have
submitted for the 2006 tax year.
The principle reason for the
Township’s request to delay the reassessment
for one year relates to information that has only very recently become available
regarding to the single largest line item in the Township’s tax role, the
Mall at Short Hills. That line item represents approximately 10% of the aggregate
assessment base for Millburn Township. The Township has come upon information
relating to recent valuation issues at the Mall which results in a high level
of uncertainty of the appropriate assessment on the Mall property. Specifically,
in a recent financial publication, “Commercial Mortgage”, an article
appeared announcing a $540 million dollar loan to the Taubman Company for the
Mall at Short Hills. According to the article the loan valued the Mall at about
$900 million dollars, which is twice the current assessed value of the Mall per
the recent tax appeal settlement agreement. The settlement agreement covered
the tax years 2002 through 2005. John Lloyd, Tax Attorney for Millburn Township,
indicated to Township Officials that there are several factors used in valuing
the Mall for a loan which are not recognized by the New Jersey Tax Courts for
valuing the same property for assessment purposes.
The concomitant impact upon
any reassessment tax list for Millburn Township is so significant that the
Township believes it inappropriate to go forward with
a reassessment of the entire Township without having a better basis for determining
the appropriate assessment on the Mall. It is the Township’s intention
to discover all that it can concerning the recent valuation situation at the
Mall while also continuing to analyze various market trends in the residential
tax base, all towards the end of compiling the most accurate reassessment list
possible for the 2007 tax year. Since this information has become available,
the Township Committee and Counsel have been working diligently to identify
the validity of the information and the appropriate next steps for the Township.
Contact:
John Lloyd, Esq., Township Tax Attorney, 201-327-0222
