All posts by rahwayrising@gmail.com

City Council, tax appeals, taxes

Another look at Merck’s tax appeal settlement

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The city’s tax appeal settlement with Merck & Co. added approximately $400 to the average home over three years, according to my estimate. Merck & Co’s tax appeal settlement that was approved a year ago cut the property tax bill for the pharmaceutical giant by at least $4.5 million over three years, reducing its overall tax assessment in Rahway by $82 million, or more than 26 percent.

The appeal affected the tax years 2010-2012 and my estimate includes some assumptions based on 2011 tax rates for 2012. The biggest hit looks like 2011 (see the end of this post). My estimate doesn’t include some other costs the city might have incurred, such as appraisals, litigation and borrowing, only an attempt to quantify how much the new assessments affected the average home.

Overall, the city’s valuation dipped from $1.549 billion to $1.486 billion in 2011 and $1.467 billion in 2012 as a result of the settlement, according to the letter sent to residents last year, explaining the settlement.

As part of the settlement, Merck withdrew its appeal in 2009 and received a cash refund of overpayment of taxes that year of $1.6 million. All told, that’s at least $4.5 million, based on 2011 tax rates, that had to be made up somewhere on the tax rolls.
Some explanation of how I arrived at this estimate: The average home in Rahway is assessed at $133,000. Every $13.30 in municipal taxes on the average home generates about $149,000 in tax revenue. Feel free to check my work in this Excel file; the key figures also are listed below (tax rates can be found on the city’s website). For 2012, I used the 2011 tax rate since the county and schools have not set their tax rate, while the municipal tax rate has only just been proposed.

Merck’s overall assessment was reduced from $312,368,300 to:
– $280,878,500 for 2010 (-$31,489,800)
– $249,699,700 for 2011 (-$31,178,800)

– $230,000,000 for 2012 (-$19,699,700)

Merck’s property tax bill shrank approximately:
– $1,614,797 in 2010 [$144 for average home]
– $1,797,458 in 2011 [$161 for average home]
– $1,135,688 in 2012 [$101 for average home]

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City Council, taxes

Council introduces municipal budget

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Municipal taxes are expected to eclipse $3,000 for the average assessed home ($133,000) this year, according to the $49-million budget introduced by City Council on Monday night. The municipal budget makes up about 38 percent of the overall tax bill, which also is made up of the school and county taxes.

The municipal tax levy — the amount to be raised by taxes — is proposed at $33.455 million, down slightly from the $34.118 million estimated for all of 2011, which was split between the second half of the 2011 fiscal year budget and a 2011 transitional year budget. The proposed municipal tax rate for 2012 is 2.287 (per $100 of assessed value), so the average assessed home ($133,000) would see municipal taxes of $3,042, compared with $3,046 estimated last year.

The city’s net valuation dropped from $1.489 billion to $1.462 billion, a decline of $27 million or almost 2 percent, due primarily to Merck’s tax appeal. City Financial Officer Frank Ruggiero told council members that $1.5 million of a $3-million settlement with the Union County Utilities Authority will be used as revenue this year, offsetting the loss of about $1 million in tax revenue this year due to the multi-year tax appeal settlement with Merck. He said the city also plans to become more aggressive in its debt reduction in the 2012 budget.

The City Council introduced the 2012 municipal budget by a 7-0 vote, with two members absent. Final adoption and a public hearing is scheduled for the March 12 regular meeting.

The City Council in November approved a transitional year budget covering July-December 2011, as it moved from a fiscal year budget (July to June) to a calendar year budget this year. Municipal taxes were about $1,522 for the average home for the six-month transitional year budget, and about $2,416 in the last fiscal year budget.

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Polls

Poll: What kind of grocery store do you want?

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It’s time for another fun blog post, like a new poll. It was mentioned during the annual reorganization meeting of the City Council that the city is in discussions to bring a grocery store downtown, upward of 20,000 square feet in size. A grocery store has long been among the top priorities for residents, so our next poll question isn’t whether you want a grocery store downtown, but what kind?

Which grocery store would you prefer downtown?
Aldi
A&P
Bravo/C-Town
Fairway Market
Pathmark
ShopRite
Stop & Shop
Supreme
Trader Joe’s
Whole Foods
Other

Given the proximity of a few (ShopRite, A&P, Aldi, Trader Joe’s), the demographics of some (Whole Foods) and the size of others (Wegman’s), I doubt whether these are realistic possibilities for downtown but we needed to give you something to vote for. For some perspective, of the 10 or so Whole Foods stores in New Jersey, the smallest is about 17,000 square feet (Montclair), so I’m not sure what could fit downtown, if anything.

Consider the “Other” option for any boutique or single-location store you might be familiar with, and feel free to share details in the comments. Who knows, maybe someone who can do something about it is reading.

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Apartments, Downtown

120-unit Meridia Chateau proposed at Savoy site

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A 120-unit rental complex proposed for the former Savoy site would nearly four times the size of previous plan’s density. The Savoy, which broke ground in 2006 at the corner of Monroe and Main streets but stalled and went into default last year, was to be a 36-unit, two-bedroom condo development.

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City Council

Bond ordinance increased for building removal

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The City Council this month unanimously approved an amendment increasing a bond ordinance by $85,000 for work related to the demolition of an East Cherry Street building last year.

At its Jan. 9 meeting, the governing body amended an ordinance from $200,000 to $285,000 (an increase of 42 percent) for work that included demolition of 65 E. Cherry St., which occurred in May (after the facade collapsed last February) and was paid for via a $75,000 emergency resolution in June). The ordinance also included funds for improvements to Lot B on Main Street.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the increase was needed for additional engineering costs to shore up the sides of the neighboring buildings, and ensure that when the building was removed, the adjoining basements were not affected. The city has placed liens on the work for the property, he added.

Developer Dornoch Holdings purchased the property for $65,000 from the Parking Authority and more than four years ago had proposed renovations to the Planning Board but those never went anywhere.

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Uncategorized

Sheriff’s sale on Riverwalk units next month

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A $5.255-million sheriff’s sale on the remaining 19 unsold townhouses at Riverwalk is scheduled for Feb. 8, Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan reported to commissioners at their meeting earlier this month. Bank of America likely will purchase the 19 units at the sheriff’s sale and then look to sell them, Regan told commissioners.

Foreclosure on the 19 unsold units began in late 2009. A total of 86 units were built, with a plan to add more on an adjacent parcel that never materialized. About two dozen Riverwalk units that are owned won judgments on their tax appeals last year, seeing their assessments reduced by as much as $20,000 and their taxes by $1,000.

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Well, check this out: A study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation claims that retrofitting an existing building to make it 30 percent more efficient will “essentially always remain a better bet for the environment than a new building built tomorrow with the same efficiencies,” according to The Atlantic.

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Apartments, Downtown

New concept for The Savoy site to be presented

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A new concept plan for the defunct Savoy project — likely to be several times larger than the 36 units originally envisioned — is expected to be presented to the Redevelopment Agency next week.

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City Hall Plaza, Redevelopment Agency

Agency closes on sale for Water’s Edge parcel

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The Redevelopment Agency last month closed on the $1-million sale of a three-quarter-acre parcel where a 108-unit rental complex will begin construction this spring. Pompton Plains-based Capodagli Property Company will undertake the project under the name Meridia Water’s Edge Urban Renewal, LLC.

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