Municipalities have 90 days to file a complaint with the Tax Court of New Jersey.
TRENTON -- Leaders of the three municipalities ordered by the state Division of Taxation to conduct property revaluations reacted with dismay Monday, saying they were unfairly -- and in one case, politically, targeted.
Jersey City, Elizabeth and Dunellen will have until Nov. 1, 2017, to conduct the revaluations, under the orders issued Monday. State officials said it is the first time in 40 years it is taking this step.
Municipalities can challenge the order by filing a complaint with the state's tax court within the next 90 days.
J. Christian Bollwage, mayor of Elizabeth, said "the cooperation with the state of New Jersey on this forced revaluation from the city of Elizabeth will be minimal."
"It's been driven autocratically and not in a process that allows Elizabeth to be part of the solution," Bollwage said. "They jammed it down our throat."
N.J. to order property tax revals in 3 towns
Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill called the orders "Trenton politics at work because of the documented and rocky relationship between Mayor Fulop and Governor Christie dating back to Bridgegate."
"If it wasn't politics," she said, "why not treat all 30 New Jersey municipalities that are in the same situation the same way?"
Treasury officials have said they launched investigations based on several benchmarks. Those investigations "revealed that municipal governing bodies in Jersey City, Dunellen and Elizabeth fostered a climate of unfair and inequitable taxation within their boundaries," the Division of Taxation said in a statement.
The assessed value of a home is used to help determine property tax bills. Property values change, and when governments stall revaluations for a long time, some wind up paying more than others in property taxes for similar homes. That's because newer homeowners have their property assessed when they buy it, while longtime homeowners are paying based on what it was worth decades ago.
However, revaluations are controversial because they can prompt sudden and big increases for longtime homeowners.
State officials have said there are six other municipalities on their watch list that may come under investigation next.
Elizabeth has not held a revaluation in 40 years, and the assessed value of all its property is about 13 percent of what it is now worth on the open market, according to state records.
In Jersey City, which last held a revaluation 28 years ago, the assessed value is 28 percent of its market value. And in Dunellen, the assessed value is about 25 percent of market value. It last revalued 34 years ago.
In this category, Dunellen and Jersey City were worst in their respective counties, Treasury spokesman Joe Perone said. Elizabeth is among the worst of the 31 municipalities that haven't held revaluations or reassessments in more than 25 years.
State officials also criticized tax boards in Union, Hudson and Middlesex counties for shirking their responsibilities.
"The common thread among the revaluation orders is local officials' failure to do their jobs and fulfill their constitutional requirements," said Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie.
Bollwage said a revaluation will cost his city more than $4 million and that the state's timeline for completing the process is "unrealistic." After years of tax appeals, abatements and school tax increases, he's also concerned about the fallout.
John Bruder, the attorney for Dunellen, said he will review the state's order before taking it to borough officials to determine whether it will comply, appeal or ask the state for flexibility in meeting its demands.
With just 7,500 residents, the cost to Dunellen could be substantial, he said.
"Our concern has been, and we don't quite understand, why we have been lumped with two of the largest cities of the state, and there are any number of other municipalities throughout the state that really seem to have the same sort of numbers or gap in time where they haven't had revaluations," Bruder said. "The borough just kind of feels as if they were singled out and doesn't understand why."
Morrill did not say how the Jersey City planned to respond to the order but that "the reval will eventually get done in Jersey City in accordance to and consistent with the law, but it needs to be done fairly, ethically, and properly... "
Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.