2009 PROPERTY TAXES
A breakdown of Mountain Lakes real estate taxes in 2009 is as follows:
| TAXING ENTITIES | 2008 TAX LEVY | 2008 RATE | Revised 2008 RATE | % OF Levy 2008 | 2009 TAX LEVY | 2009 RATE | % OF Levy 2009 | INCREASE 2008 TO 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCAL (MUNICIPAL) TAX | $4550802.63 | 0.308 | 0.356 | 35.600% | $4,730,590.74 | 0.368 | 17.472% | 3.37% |
| COUNTY TAX | $2,674,335.31 | 0.181 | 0.209 | 10.243% | $2,883,639.95 | 0.225 | 10.650% | 7.66% |
| COUNTY OPEN SPACE TAX | $605,788.66 | 0.041 | 0.048 | 2.320% | $482,588.88 | 0.038 | 1.782% | -20.83% |
| DISTRICT SCHOOL TAX | $18,277,087.18 | 1.237 | 1.430 | 70.006% | $18,979,045.00 | 1.478 | 70.096% | 3.36% |
| TOTALS | $26,108,013.78 | 1.767 | 2.043 | 100.000% | $27,075,864.57 | 2.109 | 100.000% | 3.23% |
Please Note: The Tax Rate is the SAME for EVERY property -- residential or commercial.
2008 REVALUATION
Housing prices in Mountain Lakes declined during the period 2007-2008. The previous reassessment, which was done in late 2006 and effective January 1, 2007, resulted in assessments at the peak of the real estate market. Many home sales have been at prices less than assessed valuations, which have resulted in a growing number of tax appeals. To reduce future tax appeals and the related expenses and more fairly distribute the tax burden among property owners, the Borough Council directed the tax assessor, Rick Del Guercio, to do a town-wide reassessment to realign assessments with current market values.
The re-assessment of the Borough of Mountain Lakes was completed by the Assessor. Every property in the Borough was re-assessed. Not all properties were physically re-inspected. Since the entire Borough was thoroughly inspected less than 3 years previously it was determined that the objective data (i.e. square footage, bathroom count, porches decks, etc.) is accurate and did not need to be verified for certain properties.
Both the 2008 and 2009 Assessments for every property are posted below for your review. The goal of the re-assessment was to bring all assessments in line with the current fair market value as of October 1, 2008. Therefore, any challenge to any assessment must be made on the basis of a comparison to COMPARABLE SALES rather than comparable assessments. A list of all 2008 Sales has been provided to assist you in the review of your assessment.
- 2008 Sales (pdf)
- 2008 Sales by Style (pdf).
- 2008 Sales by Neighborhood (pdf)
- 2009 Residential Assessments by Block/Lot (pdf)
- 2009 Residential Assessments by Address (pdf)
- 2009 Residential Assessments by Neighborhood (pdf)
- 2009 Assessments of Vacant Land (pdf)
- 2009 Tax Impact Analysis (pdf)
- On-Line Worksheet to Estimate Your Tax Impact
PAY BY CREDIT CARD
In addition to the normal means of payment, the Borough offers an option to pay your taxes by credit card. To access the Online Credit Card Payment System for the Borough Tax Bills click here and create a user account. Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards are accepted.
REMINDER: A SERVICE CHARGE of 2.8% will be applied to the total tax payment. This fee is charged by the third party vendor MUNITRAX for the use of their services.
PROPERTY TAX DATABASE
Go to the Mountain Lakes Property Tax Database to find out details on a specific property: assessment, property taxes, how much is owed, delinquent amount if any, and a calendar of payment dates.
OTHER WEB SITES
The Morris County Tax Board web site has tax and home sales information for all Morris County municipalities.
For a good general description of the revaluation process, including your options for both informal and formal appeals, `click here.
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