At least 165 tax appeals have been filed in Rutherford, according to Caryn Miller, the borough tax collector, over 60 percent more than were filed last year. Last year appeals had a high rate of success, with about 75 percent of all appeals being won in county or state court.

The appeals represent about $210 million in assessed value, or roughly seven percent of the town’s total value, according to Tax Assessor Joseph Nichols. Of that $210 million, about $165 million is commercial property and $45 million is residential. Of the commercial property, about $83 million in assessed value is from the Meadows Office Complex on Route 17.

"Of that $210 million it’s probably that less than $10 million of actual value is at risk," said Nichols. "That represents a tax impact of a few hundred thousand dollars."

Between 2007 and 2008 the borough lost about $20 million in total ratables due to successful tax appeals, bringing the borough’s total assessment from $2.88 billion to $2.86 billion. Consequently, there are fewer total ratables supporting the same (or greater) tax burden. At the public forum on the budget, Mayor John Hipp said the actual increase in spending from 2007 to 2008 would have resulted in a much lower tax increase if it weren’t for the borough’s drop in assessed value.

Nichols said that industrial appeals, including the Meadows Office Complex, were the major source of last year’s reduction in assessed value. They are appealing again. However, he said that considering the appellants’ success last year, it would be more difficult for them to make another case this year. Furthermore, at the last revaluation residential properties increased in value more dramatically than commercial properties because of the state of the housing market at the time, according to Miller.

Rutherford’s equalization ratio as determined by the county was .9601 this year, according to Nichols. This means the county determined the town on the whole is assessed at slightly below its actual market value, a departure from last year when Rutherford’s equalization ratio was estimated at 1.0215, or over market value. A rating of 1.0 would mean the assessment and the market value were the same.

Each year an equalization ratio is determined for each town in the county in order to make sure the towns pay county taxes that are adequately proportional to the town’s actual value. If there were no ratio and the tax rate was based solely on the town’s own assessment then towns with recent revaluations would pay a disproportionately large part of the bill, according to Nichols. Ratios are determined over a two-year average, according to Nichols, and consequently the rate is reflective of sales from two years ago.

Appeals were due by April 1. Appeals below $750,000 are heard in county court; appellants challenging assessments over that amount can appeal directly to the state. Appellants need to show that their assessments are over market value by at least 15 percent.