Borough Reassessment 
The reassessment of Chester Borough has been completed in accordance with the rules and regulations mandated by the State of New Jersey requiring all real property be appraised at its fair market value. Appraisal Systems Inc. (ASI), in conjunction with the Assessor’s office , has made a complete analysis of all recent market data in order to accomplish this task and to determine the value of all properties as of October 1, 2023. Letters to all taxpayers are in process of being mailed with the proposed values for 2024. The information shows your new assessment and how to calculate an estimate of your new tax for 2024. This estimated tax amount does not include any budget increases for 2024. Please follow the instructions on the letter for more pertinent information.

What is a Reassessment? 
A reassessment is a less evasive method of updating the values of all the properties in the Borough to reflect current market trends. The goal of a reassessment is to make sure that all properties are valued on the same standard of value. A reassessment when completed reflects 100% market value for all properties within the Borough.

Will this increase my Taxes? 
Not necessarily. The effect of the reassessment on your tax bill may vary and there are several reasons why it is impossible to predict the impact on any individual property owner’s tax bill. The reassessment will not increase the total amount of revenue to be raised by taxation. The amount of property taxes is based upon the operating budgets of the Municipal Government, School Districts, County Government and State Aid. The reassessment will change the aggregate value of the properties in the Borough, however because the same amount of overall tax is to be collected, the tax rate will change. Until the reassessment is completed and the tax rate is computed, it will be difficult to determine your property taxes.

The Law: 
New Jersey’s real property tax is an ad valorem tax or a tax “according to value”. The state Constitution requires real property to be assess at the “same standard of value”. New Jersey statutes at N.J.S.A. 45:4-23 establish the standard to be the “full and fair value” or “true value”. True value represents the fair market value of the property or the price for which it would sell in an arms-length transaction between a willing buyer and willing seller.

The Process: 
As per the requirements of the Division of Taxation, 20% of the Borough will be inspected every year. This means that each property will be inspected every 5 years. Letters will be sent in advance of the inspections to the property owners whose properties will be inspected. The exterior and interior of those properties will be 2 inspected. If you are not home a letter will be left at the property with information to call for an appointment. At the time of the first visit, the field inspector from ASI will inspect the exterior and take pictures.

As the reassessment is an ongoing process and this is ASI’s first year assisting the assessor with the reassessment, pictures will be taken of all residential properties throughout the borough.

Information regarding the field inspectors will be on file with the Police Department, Borough Administrator, Clerk, and Assessor.

The real estate market trends are analyzed by conducting a sales study. This includes an examination of all sales that have taken place over the past three years to develop trends throughout the Borough. The Borough has been delineated into neighborhoods which are reviewed based upon sales. Additionally, the styles of homes are analyzed to determine the trends for types of properties. Commercial properties are examined in terms of their income-producing potential as well as any sales that have occurred. As a result of the analyses, a value is determined for every property in the Borough. By completing annual reassessments within the Borough, the changes in the real estate market can be made as they occur. This includes increases as well as decreases to the market.