The Howell Times
Residents Angered Over Revaluation Appeal Process
By Keith Hagarty

When residents appealed assessments given to their homes in Howell's township wide revaluation process, they expected the appeal hearings before the Monmouth County Board of Taxation to, at the very least, be fair.

But they claim the hearings were anything but.

Since January 2006, the New York-based Realty Appraisal Co. has been assessing the 22,000-plus taxable properties in Howell. According to the board, approximately 350 Howell homeowners had appeals of those assessments heard during June.

Speaking before the township council earlier this month, several residents protested the tax appeal hearings and what they viewed as "intimidating and unfair" tactics used by the Livingston-based law firm, Skoloff & Wolfe, who was contracted by the town in 2005 to handle the appeals.

Jean Shroud, Vienna Road, read a statement to the council which she claimed reflected the views of several neighboring residents who joined in her protest of the revaluation proceedings.

Shroud said she attended the appeal hearings on June 5 to observe the process, and while she found the county tax commissioner to be fair-minded and in control of the hearings, she did have a problem with what transpired afterwards.

"I returned for my hearing the next day, June 6, and found the entire atmosphere had changed," she said. "The township's legal representatives (Skoloff & Wolfe) were allowed full range to use whatever tactics they chose to intimidate, harass and at times, threaten the various taxpayers who were appealing their cases."

Several residents protested the actions of Skoloff & Wolfe during the hearings, claiming the law firm used every possible scare tactic.

"From the very beginning of the process, they tried to intimidate the taxpayers who felt that their assessments are not accurate, equitable or fair, by taking the unprecedented action of sending interrogatories to every individual who appeals," said Shroud. "Yet the entire time I was there (at the hearings) not a single bit of information taken from the interrogatories was used in any case, except for attempts to dismiss several cases for failure to return the interrogatories, or to threaten the taxpayer with prosecution for a perceived lie."

Interrogatories are a formal set of written questions, in this case concerning the properties in question. They were sent to property owners who filed appeals as a means of garnering additional information on home improvements and potential selling price. While some residents believed these interrogatories were an intimidation tactic, David P. Wolfe, a partner at Skoloff & Wolfe, said sending such interrogatories to residents is routine. It is a procedure employed to gain information in attempt to settle disputes over a property's revaluation before it becomes necessary to hold a hearing before the board.

However, for Shroud and several other residents appealing their assessments, the hearings seemed to be more about how much information could be suppressed.

"I assumed going into this process that everyone had the same goal in mind, and that was for each taxpayer's assessment to be fair and adequately reflect the value of their property," said Shroud. "But what I witnessed and experienced made it clear to me that what was fair and equitable was of no consequence."

Vienna Road resident Elizabeth Piancola said she decided to appeal the assessment on her home after learning through the grapevine that other residents had seen their assessed value reduced by upwards of $30,000 when challenged.

"I just want to know where it came from and where these numbers came from," said Piancola.

Piancola's biggest question at the hearings centered on the assessed value of new homes compared to older homes throughout Howell.

"We wanted an explanation of the $220,000 per acre, where you'll see new homes that are assessed or selling for over $400,000, which are brand new, and yet you'll have older homes, like mine, which are assessed the same, but because they're on a little bit bigger piece of property, it's considered normal value."

While attending the hearings for her home's tax appeal, Claudia Malick of Vienna Road said she too witnessed a number of residents outraged and upset over the entire process.

"I felt like I was put under the microscope," Malick said of the hearings. "I've never been through anything like that in my life, and I certainly don't want to go through that again."

Malick said she attended the hearings to clear up some discrepancies she discovered during her home's assessment.

"They said I have gas heat, but I don't have gas. They fought me on the style of my house. They said my roof has shingles, but my roof is flat," she said. "I just felt like everything I had to say, they were ready to knock me down."

Living in a self-proclaimed "fixer-upper," Malcik wants to see more equality in the assessed value of the homes in her neighborhood, and doesn't want to be driven out of town because of escalating home values.

"I like Howell. I want to raise my family here. I have two beautiful children. I love the schools. I've been here for 20 years and I want to stay here," said Malick. "But I find that if my taxes keep going up, and if my (home) evaluation keeps going up, then I don't know if I can."

While the council chose not to comment on the appeal process before more information can be obtained, they said they appreciated the residents expressing their concerns.

"I hope the council understands that the taxpayers who challenge their assessments are not criminals who should be subjected to cross-examination," said Shroud. "They're law-abiding citizens who simply want to be heard and judged fairly to ensure their taxes reflect the true value of their property."