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Essex County Board of Taxation seeks 4% budget increase, flags revaluation schedule
Summary
The Board of Taxation reported a roughly 4% increase in its 2026 budget driven by software costs and standard salary increases, and outlined scheduled municipal revaluations for Fairfield, Cedar Grove and Verona this year and Newark and others in 2027 and beyond.
Ian Grama, representing the Essex County Board of Taxation, presented the board’s 2026 budget to commissioners and summarized key technical items that underpin county property-tax apportionment.
Grama said the board’s budget shows about a 4% increase over the prior year, largely due to rising software subscription costs to connect assessors and the New Jersey Division of the Treasury, and due to standard wage increases. He directed commissioners to the budget packet (tab 5, page 44) for a pie chart and equalization ratios that show how municipal, county, school and special-purpose levies allocate across the county.
Grama walked commissioners through the schedule of municipal revaluations: Fairfield, Cedar Grove and Verona are scheduled this year (new values expected imminently), while Newark and others (Caldwell and Fairfield referenced for 2027) are on the multi-year rotation through 2029 to keep assessed values aligned with market values. He noted the packet includes an abstract showing property values by category for each town.
Why it matters: revaluations and equalization ratios affect how property-tax levies are shared between municipalities, county government and school districts; commissioners said they appreciated the materials and asked for copies of the equalization table for the clerk’s records.
No vote or formal action was taken; Grama offered to provide additional packet copies to the clerk.
