TOMS RIVER – The Township Council awarded a $2,348,650 contract for a town-wide revaluation.
The contract went to Professional Property Appraisers, of Delran, NJ. They were awarded this through a competitive contracting process.
A revaluation is when all the properties in a town are given new values based on the current market. As years go by, the valuation of a property changes. This impacts taxes because your taxes are based on the value of your property, not what you paid for it.
According to the 2020 Ocean County Tax Office’s figures, Toms River’s properties are, on average, at 79.37 percent of where they should be. Revaluations are ordered when a town slips past 85 percent. Even though every town has tax assessors, they answer to the state.
Generally speaking, the results of a revaluation is that properties that are in demand will wind up paying more taxes and properties that are less in demand will see their taxes go down.
In other news, the township will be advertising for bids on the construction of a skate park near Castle Park.
Food Donations
The downtown Toms River food donations are still going as people continue to be in need, officials said.
At a recent event, 330 food boxes were given to residents, Councilman Terrance Turnbach said.
He also commended the volunteers helping, particularly Paul and Deena Gifford of the Assembly of God church.
The township gets these food boxes from FulFill, and each one lasts a family for several days.
Council President Maria Maruca said that the township started serving this need on Good Friday.
“We knew there was a need, but we didn’t know how big the need was and how long it was going to last,” she said.
Fridays Downtown
With the governor allowing outdoor dining, Downtown Toms River has been adapting, officials said.
At least half a dozen eateries and distilleries have been open on Friday nights. There is live entertainment, lots of seating, and traffic redirected.
It’s been really hot during the day, but “once the sun goes down behind the Wells Fargo bank,” it’s much cooler, Councilman Matthew Lotano said.
Officials have considered letting this Friday night event continue, weather permitting, even after the days of COVID-19.
