Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Residents question Gloucester County’s proposed real property tax increase tied to reassessment
Loading...
Summary
Members of the public told the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors that reassessment-driven increases plus an advertised tax-rate change could produce steep effective tax increases; commenters urged a line‑by‑line review, alternatives such as temporary sales‑tax requests, and transparency on how advertised rates were calculated.
Residents pressed the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors on April 13 about the effect of property reassessments and the county’s advertised real property tax rate for calendar year 2026.
Miss Calloway explained that, in an equalization year, taxable values rose on average about 15.8% (15.8% taxable‑value increase cited) and that reducing the rate to an "equalized" level would require lowering the tax rate to about 0.537 per $100 to yield the same revenue. Staff also described an advertised real‑estate rate of 0.637 per $100 (63.7 cents), which County materials said would generate roughly $6.5 million in additional revenue under the current proposal.
Members of the public who spoke and many emailed said the combined effect of reassessments and an advertised rate increase would be severe for homeowners — especially those on fixed incomes. Several emails read into the record asserted an "effective" tax increase of 18.6% and urged the board to perform a line‑by‑line review of spending before approving higher rates. One commenter suggested pursuing a temporary county sales‑tax increase (which requires state approval) as an alternative revenue source rather than raising real‑estate taxes.
Chair closed the public hearing on the real property tax increase without action that evening. Board members said they would continue deliberations in upcoming work sessions and asked staff for clarifications on the equalization calculations and on proposed spending reductions.
