Here comes the next disaster. Strike three.
1. Sandy
2. FEMA Maps
3. Property Taxes

And the Barrella team shell game begins!! Let me guess what will happen. All assessments in d3 and d4 will be reduced drastically. All assessments in d1 and d2 will be left the same. With this assinine thinking all Barrella and company are doing is creating a higher tax rate and shifting more of the burden on the people who live in d1 and d2. Wake up people!!! I can not believe Gordon, Reid, and Mayer agreed to this sham. We will be watching their assessments and their family and close friends assessments very closely. I hope the town is prepared for more lawsuits because they are definitely coming.

One last thing, I have already contacted a lawyer and suggest everyone in d1 and d2 do so as well. You people are being scammed. Just wait till you see your tax bill after this assessment is done. Compare what percentage value assessment your house was dropped compared to what councilman Corbally's and mayor Barrella's percentage value assessment was dropped. It won't even be in the same vacinity. R u kidding me!!!!!

Beach Taxpayer, it's going to be a wild ride with these new assessments, and lots of people aren't going to be happy. Yeah, those in D3 and D4 may get a lower assessment if they suffered damage from Sandy, but it looks like that break will only be temporary. The article says "Assessment reductions for storm damage will be removed when repairs are completed and inspected by the municipality." You know that the homes that were the most damaged were the older homes because the newer ones were built up higher. So now you have those older homes being renovated and repaired, which means that, once those homeowners are done making repairs, the tax man will come again. Which do you think will be assessed higher...the original older home or the older home that's been renovated? The only people who might benefit from this are the people who had their basements flooded, because they might be able to avoid making major renovations. To be fair, though, those who had their homes flooded are already behind the 8 ball because the flooding, itself, has diminished the market value of their home. People would rather buy a home that's never flooded. And, if those owners don't elevate their homes, they will continue to be in a bad position in terms of selling their homes in the future. They should've just left it up to the individual homeowners to decide whether they wanted to appeal their tax assessments based on the damage.

I have several friends who live on the east side of the tracks. Their homes were flooded by the storm and they haven't been able to move home yet. I feel badly for them. They're paying taxes on a house they can't even live in, and stupid insurance companies haven't paid them much money to make repairs. We're all going to end up paying for this storm. I get that. My only complaint is that I wish that people would stop carrying on about needing that parking plan. We need the tourists, and I hate to say it, even the ones that don't behave well because we make money from the tickets, and we really need that type of money, that doesn't come from our taxes, right now. I know that it must really stink to have to deal with some of the behavior during the summer months, but we all have to put up with certain things because of where we live. It's no fun living near the high school, either, with all of the cars every day.

question? How does the town assess the storm damage to a house without entering it ???

Tourist will come to a beach or boardwalk no matter what is going on... There was not a problem last year....Revenue went up with the parking plan. Tourist don't mind paying for parking... We don't want bad behavior in town in place of money/ tickets. Tourist gets more upset with getting a tickets...So if anything that will scare off the tourists. It turns them off...you must not read the press... I don't know how many times I have seen complaints in the paper that they were never going back to jenks because they received a ticket.

Beach Taxpayer, I think you are mistaken to think that the mayor and council have much influence on how assessments will go from one district to another. Professionals in the assessment world are very protective of both their professional independence and their licenses. I would not expect to see the Mayor or anyone else in D-4 dancing in the street over the sweet deal they will see on their tax bills, given what most have had to endure. My opinion is that those of us in Districts 1 & 2 are going to see a substantial tax increase in the short term. Districts 3 & 4 will see a short term drop, but as Nick Carraway correctly points out, once all that new construction and improvements get tallied up from the permit files, their taxes will make a substantial jump from where they were prior to the storm. Question to Nick Carraway: I don't follow your reasoning that those with flooded basements may be able to avoid major renovations? I hear from people every day that they are being told to make their basements non-usable space, or fill it in, which means moving mechanicals and utilities up into the living space. Likely to require substantial renovations to accomplish that. Karl: Amen!

I live in the beach on the west side of the tracks. I just got a phone call from my attorney that they were sending me my check back. I had gone to the attorney late in August last year to do a tax appeal. Due to the reassessments we are holding off... I would like to add my house is assessed at just over $533,000. I had my home on the market for close to 2 years and could not get one offer of $350,000. Yes, I would say we all have problems. Can't wait to see how the assessment works out this time.

Mr. Davis, as I mentioned, I think it's going to be wild ride with these new assessments. D3 and D4 property owners who sustained damage may see a tax decrease for a period of time, but I think that, in the end, many of those homes will be assessed either at the newly determined pre-Sandy figure or perhaps even higher. I know several people who are planning to knock down their homes and construct new ones. When you're talking about knocking down an older home and replacing it with a newer one, possibly even a bigger one, you're talking about building a new home that is most likely going to be assessed higher than what was there before. Those homeowners who have homes that were so damaged that they need to be knocked down don't really have many choices, especially if it's their primary residence. I mentioned the homes that flooded only their basements because I think those homeowners have more options in terms of reconstructing a home that will not be assessed higher than the pre-Sandy figures. That's really what I meant by my comment. You're right. It will cost those homeowners money if they have to fill in their basements. I don't know if a home that no longer has a basement will be assessed higher or lower than what was there pre-Sandy.

Folks. Rather than speculating, why don't you come to Tuesday's council meeting and ask those questions you may have. If we don't have the answers to all your questions, we will do our best to get them for you.

Tom Davis,
Are you kidding us. You must be sipping the Barrella kool aid. The assessments are not going back up after the construction takes place. I know you ran for council and everything and feel your in the political loop but get real. All these "in house" assessments taking place are a joke. They aren't even coming out and looking inside homes. All they are doing is lowering assessments in 3 and 4 which in turn will raise the tax rate and push the burden of the major tax increase to the first and second districts. This is not rocket science. I agree with one thing you said and that is districts 1 & 2 will see the significant tax increase.

Nick Carraway - thank you for your explanation. I see your point and appreciate your point of view. Beach Taxpayer - here is what is obvious to me: your comments and message are all about politics and trashing anyone who may challenge your point of view. Given the abundance of conflicting information that is impacting the life affecting decisions that many residents are dealing with, I find your comments unhelpful and unworthy of further response.