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Boonton ordered to begin county reassessment; assessor recommends five-year rolling plan, estimates ~$480,000 cost
Summary
Morris County ordered Boonton to update property values; Assessor Scott Holleshower urged a five-year rolling reassessment to smooth market volatility, outlined inspection and appeal steps, and presented cost estimates and timing for implementation in tax year 2027.
The Morris County Board of Taxation has ordered Boonton to begin a townwide reassessment, and the town's assessor recommended a five-year, rolling reassessment program as the most manageable option for residents and the municipal budget.
Scott Holleshower, Boonton's assessor, told the council the county summoned himself and the town attorney in mid-January and gave the town a compressed timetable to act. "This is not an optional item," he said, adding the county set a schedule aiming for implementation in tax year 2027 so the bulk of work is done in 2026.
Holleshower described two options. A single-year revaluation is the traditional, heavier-cost option; his price estimate for that approach, not including a separate tax-map update, was about $430,000. A five-year rolling reassessment, which inspects all properties in year one and reinspects 25% each subsequent year, would cost roughly $480,000 over five years in his quotes from Appraisal Systems. "It's really the most cost-effective way for the town to do something because it allows the program to be refined over several years," he said.
Holleshower said the town's current assessed-to-market ratio is about 67 percent, a lagging indicator based on multi-year averages, and that large ratable appeals by a handful of commercial properties could quickly affect the town's tax base. "One or two of those appeals could result in $150,000 to $200,000 of tax loss," he said, explaining part of the urgency.
He outlined the typical reassessment workflow: a mailed notification to all property owners, webinars explaining the process, scheduled or posted inspection windows, field inspections with multiple attempts to gain access, preliminary proposed assessments mailed to owners, and an administrative hearing process for owners who disagree. "You'll have the ability to come in and review the property record card and provide photographs or other information," he said, describing the appeal step.
Council members asked whether the county could implement a revaluation if the town did not cooperate; Holleshower said the county has authority to do the work and charge the municipality back. He also noted the state's 25 percent reinspection requirement for the four years following the base year is not optional.
Separately, the council introduced (title only) an emergency appropriation ordinance to engage special consultants for a townwide reassessment, a procedural step the town's attorneys and clerk will publish as required for final adoption. The ordinance was advanced for publication with a minor wording amendment instructing the clerk to reference the Morris County Board of Taxation.
What happens next: the town will proceed with consultant procurement and public notification; residents can expect an initial mailing and a webinar outlining inspection procedures, followed later by proposed assessment notices and an appeals/hearing process. No final assessment values take effect until the formal adoption steps required by state and county rules.
