By CHRISTIAN MANAHAN
Staff Writer

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – The local governing body took the next step in preparing for property revaluations by authorizing requests for proposal to be sought from firms that can carry out the process.

The four-member committee gave authorization during its meeting Aug. 18, and set an Oct. 1 deadline for companies to submit proposals.

State law requires an RFP to go out for a service that costs $17,500 or more, Deputy Mayor Nelson Gaskill said.
The reason for a reval, as it is commonly called, stems from a court order by the state Division of Taxation that requires the township to undertake the revaluation process and have the new values take affect by 2011.

The last time the municipality conducted a reval was in 1992.

Township officials said that a revaluation is a program undertaken to appraise all real property within the taxing district according to its “full and fair” market value. Full and fair market value is the price at which the property would sell in a fair and bona fide sale between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

According to the municipality’s website, the intent of the reval is to spread the tax burden equitably within the municipality, to assess property at the same standard of value and to ensure that every property owner is paying a fair share.

Market conditions are constantly changing, and over time, property values change at different rates and in proportion to each other, officials said. 

Ultimately, a revaluation brings property values back in proportion so that each property owner pays an equitable share of the property tax burden.

According to the RFP packet, Hamilton has approximately 260 commercial properties, 8,400 residential properties and 5,200 vacant properties.

Gaskill said residents who have questions and/or concerns with the revaluation process to contact the administrator’s office at (609) 625-1511 and then press 9 or visit the township’s website, www.townshipofhamilton.com, to view information that addresses questions commonly asked about the property revaluation.