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Assessor reports town ratio dropping toward revaluation threshold; collector posts 99.5% collection rate
Summary
Tax Assessor Lorraine Jones said West Windsor's assessment ratio has fallen to about 65.8 percent amid rising market values, increasing the likelihood of a future revaluation; Tax Collector Kelly Montesinos reported a 99.5 percent collections rate for 2024 and rollout plans for online sewer billing.
Lorraine Jones, West Windsor's tax assessor, told the council the township's equalization ratio has fallen sharply as market values rose and assessments lag. Jones said West Windsor's ratio for 2025 is about 65.83 percent; by comparison, in 2022 the ratio was near 86 percent. She explained ratios only change with a revaluation and said a county-directed revaluation could be ordered if the ratio falls sufficiently far out of alignment with market value. Jones said a revaluation's cost historically has been in the low millions and could be higher today; she noted there is an option to finance revaluations via a multi-year special emergency approach rather than pay the full cost in one year.
Jones said residential appeals have been lower in recent years because assessments are below market value, but that commercial appeals are rising and are costlier because they tend to involve appraisers and attorneys. She also noted the number of new residential units coming on the tax rolls in the next two years (about 900 total expected over the development pipeline) and said staff are working to add assessments as properties come online.
Tax Collector Kelly Montesinos reported a 2024 tax collection rate of about 99.5 percent and said the tax-collection office completed an initial phase of a new tax and payments software that offers resident options to store bank information for autopay. She said the sewer billing module is planned for summer 2025 so residents can use the same online services for sewer bills. Montesinos also reported that the township's reserve for uncollected taxes increased modestly in the current budget year after several years of stability and that the office had no municipal property struck due to tax sale in 2024.
Council members asked for continued updates on the ratio and revaluation risks; Jones said Mercer County and the board of taxation provide notice and that the township likely would have advance warning should a county-conducted revaluation be ordered.
