Welcome to Dumont, N.J.

Borough of Dumont Tax Collector's Office 50 Washington Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 Barbara Kozay, CTC Tax Collector Phone: 201-387-5025 Fax: 201-384-5248 FROM THE TAX COLLECTOR'S DESK Updated 6/16/06 2006 TAX SALE - Any and all unpaid 2005 tax bills and charges will be sold at a tax sale the end of November/beginning of December (exact date to be determined). All 2005 bills still due at that time, regardless of amount, will be sold to investors at the tax sale auction. Homeowners who receive delinquent notices after the 3 rd quarter grace has ended will also receive a letter explaining the upcoming tax sale process in greater detail. The tax sale ad must be published in the newspaper for the 4 consecutive weeks immediately prior to the week containing the sale date. Homeowners will receive a certified letter when the publishing cycle begins. ASSESSED VALUE - Before the revaluation that was completed in 2005 the average assessed value of a home in Dumont was $177,147. Now the average assessed value is $382,099. If you doubt the assessed value of your home you should touch base with a local real estate agent to determine what you realistically would be able to sell your property for and what similar homes in town as nearly identical to your home and land have recently been sold for. If you feel there may be a major error in the assessment value of your parcel your first step would be to come in and meet with Jim Anzevino, Dumont's Assessor. There is always the possibility of human error during the data entry process of defining and describing your parcel, but there is only one way to be sure and that is for you to check it out. Mr. Anzevino is in the Assessor's Office (Borough Hall center hallway, 3 rd door on the right) Monday night from 6 to 8. No appointment is necessary, just come in. If you are not satisfied with the results of your meeting with the Assessor you are welcome to file an appeal with the Bergen County Board of Taxation. The window of time to file an assessment appeal is January 1 to April 1 of each year. Do your homework and get prepared. It's too late for this year, but concentrate on next year. Call the county tax board office (201-336-6300) any time and have the paperwork sent to you, read it over to see and understand what information you will need and get a head start on the process. It's not difficult, but it does take time. You can do it on your own, an attorney is not necessary. At least 95% of the people filing do the work on their own. Read everything carefully to make sure you understand the comparisons you will need to provide documentation on for the appeal process. It is not simply a matter of comparing your house to your neighbor's. The county's filing fee is minimal ($25.00) and the resulting savings in tax dollars via a reduction in your assessed value can be substantial. Nothing ventured, nothing gained ! 2006 TAX RATE - The tax rate for the calendar year 2006 has not yet been determined. When the state, town, Board of Education and county budgets are finalized the total amount budgeted for is matched against the total assessed value of the town and the tax rate for Dumont is "struck". Each individual bill is then calculated and printed. Assessment values are different for each property but the tax rate is the same for every parcel in town. What has already been collected for the first half of 2006 for each parcel is deducted from the total calculated for 2006 for that parcel and the balance due is split between the 3 rd and 4th quarters of this year on each bill. Any increase in 2006's bill has to be collected in the last two quarters of '06. The preliminary bill for next year (1st and 2nd quarters of 2007) is calculated by taking the total amount due for 2006 and dividing it by 4. The amount arrived at is the billing for each of these two quarters. In other words, the first half of the next year is only an estimate based on the current year's total tax bill. It is for this reason that the 1 st and 2nd quarters of any given year are referred to as an estimated (preliminary) amount and the 3rd and 4th quarters is the final billing for that year. For at least the last 6 years the final bill (last half of the current year) has been going out late because of the delays in finalizing the budgets, in particular, the state budget. When the bill is late being mailed, the grace period for the 3 rd quarter legally has to be extended. The due date does not change (by law it cannot be changed), the grace period is extended. If this happens again, and right now I can see no reason why it won't, you will see the date of the end of the grace period printed on the bill. The due date (November 1) and 10 day grace period for the 4 th quarter are in no way affected by a change in the grace date regarding the 3rd quarter. Please remember that as the weeks unfold and more and more stories are printed in the papers about the "tax rate" for a particular town the stories almost always are only referring to one of the budgets involved in the process and not the final tax rate which takes into consideration all three. People are easily misled by these stories, assume a report to be referring to the final tax rate and are then distressed when their bill arrives and the change in the bill is not what they had anticipated based on the newspaper reports. Wait until you have your bill or advice copy in your hand and can see the figures for yourself. BILL DESTINATION - If you escrow for taxes (pay property tax money to your lender as part of your monthly payment) the original bill or the figures are sent to the lender whether it be the paper copy or electronically provided. The advice copy is sent to the homeowner at the same time. If you know that your bank will be paying and you receive the original bill call your lender, tell them you have received the bill, remind them that the collector's office needs written authorization to send future bills to them and ask them what they want you to do with the bill. On the other hand, if you receive a bill marked " for advice only" and you pay your bill, do not wait for another statement to come. Use this document in lieu of the original bill, there will not be another bill mailing. If you do not receive either statement, and you will be paying your own taxes it is the homeowner's complete responsibility in this state to ascertain when taxes are due and what they are . There are no exceptions to the 10 day limit on the grace period. Postmark is not acceptable in this state for receipt of property taxes. The payment must be in the hands of the Collector (not in the lock box outside the office) by the close of business (4:30) on the 10 th grace day. Once the grace period has past, interest is charged from the due date (which is the 1st). I cannot speak for the postal system, but please realize that payments you have mailed and are reasonably sure will arrive on time often do not. This department does not leave for the day until all payments whether received over the counter or in the mail are posted and updated to the tax accounts. DEDUCTIONS - Seniors, Disabled, Veterans and Veteran Widows and Widowers can qualify for a $250.00 deduction that is credited on their tax bill if they qualify according to State regulations. Call the office for detailed information. This deduction is not automatic, it must be applied for by the homeowner if and when their circumstances warrant. The qualifying regulations are preset by state statute and are the same no matter what town you have a residence in and apply. REBATE PROGRAMS - The Homestead Rebate, the Property Tax Reimbursement Program (PTR)(Freeze Program) and the NJ Saver are all rebate programs managed by the State of New Jersey. You apply to the state and receive your rebate check from the state. The PTR program contains a form that must be completed by the Tax Collector but other than that, the Collector's office does not participate in the administration of these programs. The qualifications for these vary and change from year to year. If you need a telephone number to call about one of these programs this office can provide you with same. If you know a senior or are related to one and there is the possibility that they should be included in these programs, please ask them about it. Many seniors are still unaware of the programs or are reluctant to find out and file because certain paperwork(usually just an application) has to be completed and sent to Trenton by the due dates. The paperwork can be annoying and seem daunting to some of the seniors but the refund(s) can make a big difference to the senior's income. LATE (DELINQUENT) NOTICES - Delinquent notices are mailed right after the grace period ends. A future date is chosen for the software to calculate interest to for payment purposes. If you pay before the date printed on the delinquent notice, interest will be less - if you pay after that date, interest will be more. Call the Tax Office to obtain the exact figure for any given day. The notices are sent to the homeowner, whether you escrow for taxes or not. It is the homeowner's responsibility to contact their lender as soon as possible and advise them of the situation. The lender will then usually contact this office to determine the correct figure to pay. A homeowner must not/should not ignore the late notice because "my bank pays". Clearly, the system has gone awry and you are the only one who can set it right. The banking industry has undergone many changes and in this regard is not as reliable as it once was. As a result, it is not wise to "assume" the bank will take care of the problem. Often times, the bank is not even aware there is a problem until you make the phone call. CHIT CHAT - If I can be of any assistance please feel free to call. As I tell everyone, you may or may not like the answer because it is or is not what you want to hear, but it is the answer! Tax Collector offices are run strictly by state statute and you should be receiving basically the same answer regardless of who you are or which town's tax office you call. Each town has its own individual dollar amounts and rates etc., and can only answer for itself about those matters, but the method of operation and the office laws ( the "how and why") of what a collector and staff do are the laws of the State of New Jersey. Almost everything that a collector's office does and how it does it is regulated by the State and statutes that have been in place for a very long time. Since the mid 80's all Tax Collectors had to be certified by the State. No one can be a Collector unless they have gone to Rutgers for 2 years, passed the tax classes with an 80 or better and sat for the day long exam given by the state in Trenton. Passing grade in each of the three exam areas is 80 and on the average, only 25% of all those taking the test for the first time pass. Most have had to sit for the exam several times before attaining passing grades. Some never pass and can never become Collectors. Every two years each Collector has to prove they have attended continuing education classes in our field and accumulated the proper amount of credits in the different subject areas of collecting, reporting, billing and enforcement. Proof of attendance has to be submitted to the state in order to have the license renewed. Collectors have to be certified before they can be hired as collectors. In other words, one cannot be hired as a Tax Collector and then go to school. The CTC (Certified Tax Collector) has to be after the name in order to be appointed as the Tax Collector. Some towns require that all employees in a tax office go to class and become certified just to make certain that the entire office is "on the same page". While I personally would not for a moment try to convince you that there are not some collectors who have "massaged" the law a bit for the convenience of their particular office, you can be absolutely certain that the Tax Collector's office in the town of Dumont has never and will never deviate from the law as it is written. Deviation from the law places my license in jeopardy and I can assure you that I will not let that happen. What applies to you, applies to your neighbor, applies to the governing body and applies to me. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask or call, I'll do my best to answer and set your mind at ease (or make you realllllllly angry!). Property taxes is a hot and heavy issue and this office can't resolve the problems but at least I can try to answer "why?". Many of the old laws need to be changed or modified but that change has to occur at the state level - nothing can be done at the local level. All this office can do is follow the law as it is written. Getting angry at me because of an out of date state statute accomplishes nothing. All that anger only raises your blood pressure and , in turn, mine when I try to respond to you! The hours for this office are Monday through Friday 9 to 4:30 (except Fridays in the summer when the hours are 8:30 to 3:30). The office is open the first two Monday nights of each quarter from 6 to 8PM. The direct number is 201-387-5025 and the fax number is 201-384-5248. It's been great being back "home". Seeing all of you again has been a very happy time and meeting many of our town's newest residents is always interesting. We have quite a community here and one of which we should all be very proud. I am also the Tax Collector for Emerson and Bergenfield but having Dumont as my "home office" is the best! Barbara J. Kozay CTC Tax Collector