Hamilton's last revaluation was in 1999, and the Mercer County Board of Taxation ordered Hamilton to complete one this year.
HAMILTON -- By the end of the month, all Hamilton taxpayers will receive revaluations on their properties and the township has loaded a part of their website with information about the process, including a YouTube video, officials said.
All municipalities are required to do a revaluation when their total valuation begins drops to about 50 percent of what the state Board of Taxation determines is true market value.
Hamilton's last revaluation was in 1999, and the Mercer County Board of Taxation ordered Hamilton to complete one this year.
In April 2014, when the township council approved an outside firm to do the revaluations, Hamilton officials said the township's property values had fallen more than $27 million over the past few year, with a total of about $5.2 billion in taxable property.
Hamilton chief financial officer John Barrett said the revaluations are being mails in chunks of 6,000 to about 33,000 property owners.
With the revaluations are estimates on what each taxpayer's new tax bill could be based on last year's tax rates.
Barrett stressed that Hamilton taxpayers pay the township for several taxing authorities, from Mercer County, to fire districts, to the school board and the township itself. Those taxing bodies have yet to set their levies for this year.
Also with the revaluations are instructions on how to contest the new property value with the company that performed them.
If that is unsatisfactory for a taxpayer, they can file an appeal with the county tax board by May 1.
To Hamilton taxpayers, Barrett said: "If your taxes are going up, we're giving you plenty of that time for that event."
Barrett said because such issues usually generate a lot of questions and commentary, the township put a lot of information on the township's website, and Barrett and Hamilton tax assessor Don Kosul made a YouTube video to answer any possible questions.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.