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2012 PROPERTY TAXES

A breakdown of Mountain Lakes real estate taxes in 2012 is as follows:

TAXING ENTITIES2011
TAX LEVY
2011
RATE*
% OF
Levy 2011
2012
TAX LEVY
2012
RATE*
% OF
Levy 2012
INCREASE IN
TAX RATE
2011 TO 2012
LOCAL (MUNICIPAL) TAX$4,839,274.380.37417.632% $5,268,301.33 0.409 18.91% 9.36%
COUNTY TAX$2,970,412.590.23010.823% $2,961,504.14 0.230 10.63% 0.00%
COUNTY OPEN SPACE TAX$238,768.140.0190.070% $192,233.10 0.015 0.69% -21.05%
DISTRICT SCHOOL TAX$19,398,097.001.50070.676% $19,435,045.01 1.509 69.76% 0.60%
TOTALS$27,446,552.112.123100.000% $27,859,869.58 2.163 100.00% 1.88%

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*  This is the tax per $100 OF ASSESSED VALUE.  Please Note: the Tax Rate is the SAME for EVERY property -- residential or commercial.

2012 REVALUATION

Housing prices in Mountain Lakes declined during the period 2008-2012.  The previous reassessment was done in late 2008 and effective January 1, 2009, resulted in assessments high compared to 2012.  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 goal of the re-assessment was to bring all assessments in line with the current fair market value as of January 1, 2013.  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 2011 and 2012 Sales has been provided to assist you in the review of your assessment.

Here are materials related to the 2012 revaluation:

  1. Mountain Lakes 2011 Usable Sales,
  2. Mountain Lakes 2012 Usable Sales,
  3. Neighborhood Key,
  4. Mountain Lakes Assessments by Line,
  5. Mountain Lakes 2013 Tax Impact by Property Class.

Here are materials to help you calculate the impact on your own properties:

  1. Sample Property Record Card (explanation),
  2. Tax Calculation Worksheet (pdf) (excel).

PAY ON LINE

In addition to the normal means of payment, the Borough offers the option to pay your taxes on line by credit card or by check using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). To access the On-line Payment System for Borough Tax Bills click here. You will be asked to create a user account. Once you have an account, you can enter your properties, view details of your tax bill and past payments, and pay some or all of your bill on line. If you choose credit card, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover credit cards are accepted.

A Convenience Fee will be charged for on-line payments as follows. Credit card payments will be charged 2.80% of the payment amount ($5.00 minimum). EFT fees are $4.00 for payments up to $4,000; $8.00 for payments between $4,000 to $8,000; and $10.00 for payments greater than $8,000. The convenience fee is charged by the third-party vendor for the use of their service. The Borough of Mountain Lakes receives no portion of the fee.

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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