Tax revolt

The owners of more than two dozen Middlesex Borough properties are staging a tax revolt by appealing their real estate assessments in State Tax Court.

The appeals – which involve apartment complexes and commercial properties – have consequences for all borough taxpayers. Reductions granted to one property owner are then shifted onto the rest. Assessments can be lowered by the tax court after a hearing, or through a settlement between the borough and the appellant. The appeals appear to relate to new property assessments set during the 2022 revaluation.

The State Tax Court’s website – current as of July 18 – listed 21 Middlesex commercial and apartment properties with open 2023 tax appeals. Seventeen of those parcels are also appealing their 2024 taxes.

There are an additional seven properties with only 2024 tax appeals pending, according to the State Tax Court site.

The municipal budget states that the borough’s ratables total, or collective value of all real estate, is $2,309,988,800 in 2024. That’s down $1,839,700 or .08% from last year.

Earlier this year, officials referred to ratables lost from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control project. They have not publicly stated how much value has been lost, or stands to be lost, from tax appeals.

Typically, the owners of properties with higher-value assessments such as commercial properties, file any tax appeals directly with the state. The Middlesex County Tax Court usually handles appeals filed by single-family homeowners.

The state appeals include properties that pay some of the borough’s largest tax bills. They include:

• Hamiltonian Gardens, Warrenvillle Road ($363,992) 

• ADM Corp. building, Lincoln Boulevard ($168,209) 

• Hampton Gardens, Bound Brook Road ($312,852)

• Middlesex Village, Marlborough Avenue ($510,468)

• Industrial building, 136 Lincoln Boulevard ($95,829)

(The figures listed are each appellant’s 2024 total tax bill. The numbers were obtained from the municipal website.)

It is not clear how many residential appeals might be pending at the county level. The county tax board does not post case info on its website.

The Borough Council’s July 23 meeting agenda, includes resolutions approving reductions for two homeowners that were apparently granted recently by the county.

The two lots set to receive reductions are residential properties, one on Jay Place, the other on South Lincoln Avenue.

The Jay Place residence saw the county reduce its assessment to $350,000 from the original $386,600 and is receiving an $846 tax credit.

The South Lincoln Avenue multi-family home had the county board set its assessment to $365,000 from the original $412,300 and is receiving a $1,094 tax credit.

Meanwhile, the state tax appeals might carry additional financial consequences.

The council’s upcoming meeting agenda includes a resolution that would collectively grant several hundred thousand dollars in sewer fee waivers.

Under a borough ordinance, a property owner receives a sewer bill if their water usage exceeds 100,000 gallons in a calendar year. Single-family homeowners can appeal their fee. To receive a waiver, they must demonstrate that at least some of their water usage did not return to the sewer system, possibly due to a swimming pool or lawn sprinkler system.

Many of the properties listed in the resolution would receive waivers of $1,000 or less. They appear to be homeowners who have exceptions due to the typical reasons. But also listed are several apartment complexes that are the subject of state tax appeals.

Mayor Jack Mikołajczyk said those proposed waivers might be related to tax appeal cases. The resolution was tabled in June so that the mayor could obtain further details.

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