Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Division of Local Government Services to include certain property tax information on division's web page.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning property tax information posted on the web page of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall post on its Internet web page a summary of property tax data for each calendar year.
The property tax data summary shall provide the public with information about the property tax levy for the previous year in each county, municipality, fire district, and school district in the State, and shall include such other statistical information as the division determines to be useful for the public's understanding of the individual components that make up each taxpayer's property tax bill.
In each year, the data shall include, but shall not be limited to, the amount of the average residential property tax bill for each municipality in the State, the amount of the average homestead credit payment credited against the average property tax bill for each municipality, and the net average residential property tax bill for each municipality, which shall be the remainder of the average residential property tax bill minus the average homestead credit payment.
The data shall also include, but shall not be limited to, the following information:
a. total net valuation taxable,
b. state equalization table average ratio,
c. net county taxes,
d. county library levy,
e. county health services levy,
f. county open space preservation levy,
g. total county levy,
h. school property tax levy,
i. school property tax levy for consolidated, joint, and regional school districts,
j. municipal levy required for debt service of Type I school districts,
k. total school levy,
l. municipal purposes property tax levy,
m. municipal open space preservation levy,
n. municipal library levy,
o. total municipal levy,
p. the total levy used to determine the tax rate for each county, municipality, fire district, and school district; and
q. the equalized and non-equalized tax rates for each local unit.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs to post on its Internet web page a summary of property tax data for each calendar year.
The property tax data summary would provide the public with information about the property tax levy for the previous year in each county, municipality, fire district, and school district in the State, and would include such other statistical information as the division determines to be useful for the public's understanding of the individual components that make up each taxpayer's property tax bill.
In each year, the data provided must include, but not be limited to, the amount of the average residential property tax bill for each municipality in the State, the amount of the average homestead credit payment credited against the average property tax bill, and the net average residential property tax bill, which would be the remainder of the average residential property tax bill minus the average homestead credit payment.
The bill would also require that other property tax data, such as individual property tax levies for certain portions of local budgets, be provided as well.
It is the intent of the sponsor that this information will help to inform the public at large, and local property taxpayers individually, about the components of their property tax bills, and to illustrate to the public that local spending decisions directly affect local property taxes. It would also help local property taxpayers compare how well their local units of government are doing against local units in other parts of the State.