Good evening. I'm now going to call the workshop meeting of September 2nd, 2025 to order at 8:01 p.m. Can everyone please stand for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Yansancy, can you please read the statement regarding the Open Public
Meetings Act? >> This meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Law. Notice of this meeting was included in a notice sent to the record and the star ledger and advertised in said newspapers on January 10th, 2025, posted on the bulletin board in the municipal
building, and has remained continuously posted as the required notices under the statute. A copy of this notice is and has been available to the public and is on file in the office of the municipal clerk. Proper notice haven't been given. The municipal clerk is directed to include the statement in the minutes of this meeting.
>> May I have a roll? >> May I have a roll call, please? Councilman Rosenway >> here. >> Councilman Tokayer >> here. >> Councilman Wilson >> present. >> Council President Wasadski >> here. >> Also present is Mayor Michael Wild, city
manager Robert S. Hoffman, Deputy City Manager John Burkner, city attorney Bill and City attorney Bill Bailey. Um I believe running late is Councilwoman Angela David. >> Okay. Thank you. Um before we start the presentation for tonight, um Bob, did
you want to say a few words to introduce the presentation, please? Thank you, Council President, and good evening, everyone. Tonight, we're going to have a presentation about the reassessment process that's going to occur in
Englewood. This is the process that's been ordered by the county board of taxation, and we have our tax assessor with us. And we also have one of the professionals from ASI which is the company that will be um doing the uh the
reassessment. So there they will give you an in-depth presentation um about the what's going to happen. All of the information that you'll see here is also going to be on our website. Much of it is already on the website. If you go to news and alerts, you will see the
letter that was sent out from ASI. You'll see the brochure. you'll see a PowerPoint presentation and then um later on we will add the presentation that uh that's up on the screen right now. But just as a recap, in calendar
year 2023, the city was ordered by the county board of taxation to complete a re-evaluation during calendar year 2024. and city officials elected or otherwise
do not and cannot authorize a re-evaluation or a reassessment. So, the city agreed to do the re-evaluation, but we asked for an extension since the city was conducting the master plan in calendar year 2024.
and the board of taxation agreed to postpone the city's re-evaluation due to the due to the master plan and also due to the fact that there are only three approved um companies that can conduct a
re-evaluation or a reassessment. Technically on paper there are five, but there are only three that are doing work in the state of New Jersey at the moment. And the board of taxation had authored or had ordered over 40 municipalities to do re-evaluations.
So it just it wasn't going to work and the city needed to get the master plan done and the board of taxation agreed. So during calendar year 2024, the city issued a request for proposal for the re-evaluation services and it had one
response which was ASI, but at the time their bid was higher than anticipated and so the city rejected their bid and um in early 2025 the city once again issued an RFP uh for the re-evaluation
and again there was only one bid and Um it was also higher than the city had budgeted for. So uh the bid was rejected and then with the approval of the county board of taxation, the city was allowed to enter into an agreement to conduct a
reassessment or to do the reassessment process. And you'll hear what's the difference between a reval and a reassessment. It's a slight difference, but um the the county board of taxation agreed to let us do that because it's very similar in in scope to a re-evaluation.
And so the city has been discussing off and on uh in close session as well as in open session uh during calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025 the the need to do the re-evaluation
because we were ordered by the county board of taxation to do it. And this is a large chunk of change. So the city will be um will be paying for this re-evaluation during calendar years 2025. So it was in our 2025 budget city to conduct a
re-evaluation. The city was ordered to redo it to do a re-evaluation in 1994 and then again in 2007. So at that time the city complied with with those orders and the re-evaluations
were completed and they were implemented. In calendar year 2011, the city asked that the county board of taxation authorize a reassessment and the city asked that because there was a
significant decline in the real estate market at that time. So that meant that um our residents were um you know had higher assessments and many of them were going to be paying higher property taxes. So, uh, the city was able to do
the the county board of taxation agreed and let the city do a reassessment in 2020 in 2011. So, now we're going to hear from um from Patrick and from Brad from ASI and they're the companies that are going to be conducting the
reassessment and then um they'll be able to answer any questions that you have. And again, please refer to our website and then uh there's going to be a number where you can call if you have a qu questions and ASI will be able to answer those questions. Thank you, Council President.
>> Okay. Thank you. Okay, we're ready for the presentation. Thank you. >> Thank you everyone for for having us here tonight. Uh my name is Patrick Wilkins. I am the the city tax assessor. Um, I'm just going to run through some slides uh and and kind of highlight some points to to get things started for for
for Rob Brussia from appraisal systems. Um, I think the thing that I wanted to to start with is that is really what the purpose of assessment is, which is something that I think we we don't talk about a lot. The primary purpose of assessment is to equitably distribute the tax burden. It's to make sure to the
best that we can that all taxpayers, all property owners are paying their fair share. And that's relative to uh the assessment's relationship to market value. Um in the state of New Jersey, market value has been the standard of
value for for tax assessment since 1875. Um we we've been ordered to conduct this reassessment, revaluation. I'll talk a little bit about those, but we can we could really use those two terms interchangeably because for the purposes of what we're contracted to do and what
we're required to do, um the reassessment that we've been able to uh contract with appraisal systems at a lesser price will still accomplish the precisely the same work product that a revaluation would. Um and that we can provide more information on that why it
is, but this is something we did have to get permission for from the county t tax board. uh and then ultimately with the with approval by the state director of taxation. Um but that's that's where we are today. Um we're we're moving forward in an attempt to inspect and value all
properties to a current standard of value uh for the 2026 tax year. Um so I'm going to go to my my slides. Um I do want to one more thing I want to say at the back end of the presentation I have my email address and my my office phone
number. And I really encourage any any residents especially if anyone has any questions if you get information that uh in speaking with your neighbors, maybe folks that have gone through this before, please please feel free to reach out. You can also contact appraisal systems, but if you have questions about the process, we're we're we we would
love to chat with you about what this means uh and and what to expect from the process. We really encourage uh so Anglewood's reassessment for for 2026. I selected a picture here to to start. This is not in Anglewood, but
it's kind of a great case study. Um, not too different from a lot of Bergen County towns. To take a quick glance, this is a a row of homes that were probably built after World War II. Uh, at a quick glance, those homes all look like they're pretty much the same. Um, you might say that you want all those homes and and and think that on paper
they should be assessed and taxed probably the same. Um, but as as you look deeper, and part of what this process requires is that we do interior and exterior inspections of all property. And Rob's going to detail a little bit that more from from his company's standpoint. But each one of
these houses, I'm sure if any of you been in your neighbor's homes, as you go up and down the street, the houses may look very much the same. They may have built by the same developers, but the the interior of those homes could be quite different. Um, one thing I'll point out is the second home from from the the right, if you look towards the back of the roof line, you could see a
little dormer that appears there. So on the on the front face of these homes, they all look the same, but that home expanded the second floor. Those are those are the kind of things that we're we have to capture because that's a there's going to be a difference in the real estate value for those homes. Um
a reassessment and revaluation is is is uh it's it's worked through in the appraisal process. That's what we're trying to identify for anytime you have a reassessment or revaluation. October 1st of the pre-tax year. So that for this coming reassessment, the value date
will be October 1st of 2025. That's our appraisal date. So, if any of you have had appraisals on your homes, refinance, or anything else, the appraiser has to have a date that that value has been assigned. We're doing that for the entire town. This is mass appraisal as of October 1st. And then each year into
to perpetuity, anytime somebody disputes, wants to dispute their their tax assessment, they have the right to challenge that each and every year. And that's what it comes back to. What was my house worth on October 1st of the pre-tax year? and what does my assessment translate to? Um, and can
once you understand that, and I'm hoping what a lot of residents get from this whole process is a better working understanding of of their tax assessment and and the taxation process in general. Okay. Um, this next slide is a is a a shot of a a street in Anglewood. Um, I
think it's a good example tying back to the last slide where these homes were probably built around the same time. You could tell from the architecture. Uh very similar construction, all uh two-story homes with a a garage on the side. Um if you look to the next slide,
this is the aerial shot of those same homes. So from the front appearance, you could see that those homes looked like they were almost identical in a lot of ways, but when you look at the the backs of the homes, you could see some of the homes had additions and decks. Some of them have pools and detached garages. Those are all the elements that just
like if you were doing an appraisal and you had a garage in your property and and your your neighbor didn't, your house might be a little bit more valuable because you have that additional amenity. We have hundreds of variables in the assessment model that we're we're trying to capture. Um so that's just a quick a quick example of
what we're that's what our starting point is. Uh why does Anglewood have to complete a reassessment for the 2026 tax year? and how frequently the towns have to com complete reassessments or revaluations. Uh in New Jersey, the state measures several statistical and non-stat
statistical factors to determine if a municipality's property assessments are equitable, which could trigger a revaluation or in our case, a reassessment. Reevaluation is ordered when assessments are found to be substantially below or above the required true market value. And I'll get
more into that in a second with the next slide. Uh, as far as timing, how frequently do we have to do this? In New Jersey, there is no set statewide schedule for when municipalities are ordered to complete reevaluations or reassessments. Instead, a revaluation or reassessment is ordered by the county
tax board or county board of taxation or the state director of taxation when a municipality's property values no longer reflect true market conditions. Mr. Hoffman mentioned at the outset that a municipality could also voluntarily take on a reassessment. That's almost
exclusively when the market is actually on a down a downslide and the town can't defend those assessments anymore. So you're struggling in a tax appeal situation. It becomes very costly. So in that situation, a town would volunteer to to do a reassessment.
As far as the what the state and the county are looking at, um the these slides will all be pres uh posted online as well on the city website. This this is a uh a copy of one of the Bergen Pow County uh pages from the equalization
table. Every year the state is measuring uh the town's uh assessment relationship to market value. They study all the sales that take place um the the the good arms length sales. So they're they're take weeding out sales like estate sales and foreclosures and all
those things. They want good uh arms length sales between willing buyer and willing seller to get the the most accurate depiction of of what the sales are telling them. Um and each year they publish this and they track they they give each town in the state a ratio and that ratio is is basically the the the
statistical measurement that that determines um or that says the relationship between assessments and market value. Um, when a town completes a reassessment or revaluation, inherently their their ratio is 100%. Because it's a clean slate. You're
bringing values up to a current date. Most towns in the state don't reassess every year. So, they participate in that re in that ratio process. Um, and over time, and in the the current case, our
ratio has dropped to uh a point of 67.85%. So on average, Anglewood's assessments are 67.85% of market value. That's a that's a weighted ratio that includes all property classes. That's residential,
commercial, vacant land. It includes everything. Um, and it's what the state it's it's probably the primary variable um that the state uses to to determine and really start looking at districts when they need to reassess or not. I would tell you that most towns in Bergen
County are in the same especially towns that have reassessed in in at a time frame when Anglewood did last are at this point. And I have a slide that we'll we'll get to in a few that kind of shows the state of things in Bergen County. We are not alone in in this obligation that we have in this order.
Who orders a town to complete a reassessment? Uh in New Jersey, the county board of taxation, the state director of taxation through the New New Jersey division of taxation, and even the courts can order municipality conduct a property revaluation or reassessment when assessments are not
keeping pace with market value and are inequitable. A municipality can also choose to initiate the process itself if if it recognizes the need. This is an example of one of the data sheets that my office gets from the county tax board. Um, I received this
sheet from Bergen County in 2022. Um, uh, the Bergen County Taxation forwarded this to to my office to inform, uh, my office that the, uh, city would likely be ordered to complete a re-evaluation, uh, due to the statistical data in 2023. That was when the order was going to be
coming. Um and if you look down the sheet, the ratio is definitely uh one of the factors, but it it goes further and it measures uh deviation within a property class like residentials. Um so it might not be that the the ratio might
be low, but you can make an argument in some cases that but it's if it's low across the whole town. If the all property classes have trended in the same way, then it's okay to have a ratio. But when it starts to be problematic is when the individual property classes uh start to deviate in
a way where there's large gaps between similar types of properties and that could be as a result of tax appeals especially um a number of factors that can play into that. Never mind trend shifts which we've certainly seen and we'll talk about a little bit more.
Our history uh from a reassessment standpoint as Mr. Mr. Hoffman mentioned uh 1994 we did a full revaluation. So every property was inspected and valued relative to a it would have been a a market value date of October 1st, 1993. Uh the city then did its next full
revaluation in 2007. That's the last time that the city actually had full inspections for for purposes of reassessment. uh many towns like Anglewood uh conducted a reassessment within 3 to four years after conducting
a revaluation in 2007208. The market was still very strong in 2007208 but then there was obviously a dramatic downturn. So a lot of towns that had completed that um they they then volunteered to reassess. What Anglewood did at that point was they were able to
utilize the same data set, the same inspection data with I think a fractional amount of the properties that would have had to have been reinsc reinspected. So it was at a a much more reasonable cost. Um and then obviously we just got our uh our order now uh
initially in 2024 for 25. We we you know Mr. Hoffman mentioned that uh the primary reason we did that was for the master plan, but another reason that that I was was uh willing for that was that I was also hoping to have a little bit more time to see what this market
was doing um to to allow us to to maybe offset one more year to see that and I think we've we've accomplished that because we're starting to see some settling in the market and I feel much more comfortable at this point that we're going to see a market we're we have a I think a better opportunity to see a market to have to build a reass
assessment model that will stand the test of time similar to what this last one did. The last reassessment we did was 2011. Rule of thumb is like 10 years is usually what towns you you'll hear that in conversation. 10 years between reassessments. We had 15 years from the
last time we did a reassessment in town. So it's it's it's a it's a good amount of time to to have that product kind of last. Why are reassessments important? Um, I purposely picked this pink and green tile because I think most people have
some relationship to that at some point in their life. Um, we'll still see this this kind of this kind of uh was it porcelain? Did you say >> or or currently it's very much back in fashion. Um, it's true. Um, you know, some of the thing you'll see with a
community with with a housing stock especially that's that's as old as Anglewood is you'll see a lot of homes that have this this this these older materials. Um, this is more of a 1970s vintage with shag carpeting and the like. Um, and I'm just trying to kind of
point out that part of while these are pretty extreme examples, um, part of the thing that we capture in reassessment, especially in the example what Anglewood has where it's 15 years since the last time we reassessed, trends change, real estate demand change, what people want
in homes change, and that's that's we we we find that in the sales. Um, this is an example of of a little bit more of a contemporary looking type property that we'll see today. Um, the next slide I think is it I wanted to
lead into it this way. Speaking about the residentials, but it's not exclusive for residentials. That trend shift shift is something that is is important to be cognizant of. Um, this is what your your typical office building office space would have looked like. I would say
probably in the early to mid 90s and even in through the 2000s. Um it's what I I think most people probably think of an office office space where they're maximizing every bit of square footage with cubicles and loading people in there. And fast forward to 2025.
This is what people more think of a of an office space. People are working from home after COVID. Uh offices in general uh a lot of offices closed up. they encourage their employees to work from home. So, turning back to the the assessment side of things, what happens
to that that value of that property that we have a responsibility to put on? And I think we're fortunate in Anglewood that we don't have a ton of office type property. Um, but we'll we certainly have seen some other sectors of of real estate appreciate in ways that we'll
have to capture with this. Um, so revaluation is a long process, reassessment is a long process. Um, I know a lot of folks probably want to know what the impacts of all of this will be. Um, and I'm going to shed a little bit of light on that and hopefully alleviate some concerns that I
think people logically have. But we just have to go through the process. We just have to go through and do uh appraisal systems. We'll be doing a full market analysis. They're going to be appraising every single property for us. This is the agenda for the Bergen County
Tax Board meeting. This is actually scheduled for tomorrow. Um, I apologize the writing is so long, but I I wanted to try to capture all the towns in addition to Anglewood. There's there's 47 other towns in Bergen County that are also ordered to complete reassessment or
revaluation for the 2026 tax year. Literally, every single town in Bergen County, all 70, will either have completed a revaluation or reassessment in the last two to three years or are under order to complete by 2027.
which is complicated when there's only three companies that are doing that work in the entire state. So when we got our approval to move forward and we understood that the firm, you know, that the one firm that bid on our revaluation was available and ready to go, it was an
opportunity that we thought we should try to get moving on this. Um, so that's where that's where we are today. While most uh while in New Jersey most districts do not reassess their property values annually, the assessments are measured for relevance annually by a study conducted by the division which we
mentioned is that ratio study. Division measures each arms length sale against its assessment and includes each sale in the study to determine the municipality's annual ratio. For anyone that can I'm not sure if anyone everyone could see but >> okay this will all be on the website the
city website. So you'll be able to look at this in your on on your computer. Um, but I'll break it down. The far left column shows the year. This is this is indicating the average assessment in Anglewood currently. So, we take the total amount of residential properties,
divide that by the uh divide the total value of residential properties by the total amount of properties. The average assessment for this year is 474,200. That's the average assessed residential property. The next column is the district ratio which you could see back in 2015 was 92%.
That ratio has dropped steadily every year since then. That ind indicates an appreciating market. So that basically means that Anglewood's assessments are on average 67% of what the market is indicating. So the assessments don't
change, the ratio does. And also the final column where you apply the ratio to an assessment like say in a tax appeal situation. What you would be doing as a property owners is saying my assessment is $474,000 in 2025. When I apply that 67.85% ratio
that indicates a market value of $698,000. So as a property owner, if I think my house is worth 650, then I file an appeal that year and then I have to support that through comparable sales. But this is the purpose of this slide is more to show folks that without making
any changes our inferred the the the market value inferred by the ratio against our assessments have become more challenging to to defend it. It's a it's a much higher number. The residential sector we've actually were able to hold that off but it's more complicated when
you apply that same ratio to a commercial type property. So if you accept my my example in this one and I'll read through my slide. The municipal ratio is determined annually and is driven by the residential property sales as that type of property sells most frequently. While the ratio
is updated annually that's by the annual study by the state. It is also applied to all property classes commercial vacant land everything which do not typically trend in the same manner as residential properties. This could lead over time to an imbalanced relationship
in equity and how different property classes are assessed and taxed. It can also result in your municipality struggling to support assessments in appeal proceedings. A reassessment recalibrates this relationship. So in this example, and if we'll if we'll accept that this property, which the
assessment is $19.5 million, is a hotel or an office type property. If you look at the init the top line in 2015, when you apply that ratio to that $19.5 million assessment, it indicates on the far right that that property's value was
21 just over $21 million. Not too far from the assessment. But when you drop all the way down now to 2025 and you use this ratio again, that's really driven by the residential market because that's where the sales are. We just don't have the frequency in sale in industrial,
hotel, office, but we still have to use that same ratio. So, you take a $19.5 million assessment and applied the district ratio of 67%, we then have to defend an assessment of of a market value of 28 almost $29
million. And if we accepted that this was a an office type property, we all know what happened to that market around 2020. So, it's not only that we're dealing with equalization. In this situation, we would be dealing with a property type or use that has fallen off
where residentials have continued to appreciate. This type of property has gone the other way because there's less demand for it. So, then we have a problem from a tax appeal standpoint. The reassessment will correct that. The reassessment will, and again, this comes back to the shifts of everything, which
we we won't know until we're farther into the process. I brought this guy back. He's on his ninth cup of coffee of the day. Um I brought this back to come back to the to the office piece. Um so what happens to those those office type buildings? This
is this is a photo of a a property in Hackinack. This is a Bank of America property that's that's between River Street and Main Street. Um was a big beautiful lobby, some art deco type features. It was a you know staple in that area for years. And then the the
property was basically vacant. You know, it was starting to trend that way as you got towards um as you got towards COVID. And then during CO, I think it's it was completely uh less valuable. It's it's it's been redeveloped. I think that's it's now an apartment building. But I
just to wanted to use this to highlight the point. If that property took five or six years to develop, what happens over that five to six year p uh period from a tax assessment standpoint? the city, you know, is is going to be have a problem unless they adjust that on the, you
know, in advance of that and anticipate it, which it's difficult to do. Um, so that's just an example of how this ratio, you know, really really uh can affect our properties in a way and our and our tax burden uh in a way that we might not always see. Um, a question
that we get in my office from residents frequently, will a reassessment increase taxes? And I think there's a logical expectation that it's going to um I brought this this is a slide showing uh the burrow of Bota who just completed a revaluation in 2024.
This this is showing this first slide is showing the five or six years leading up to the revaluation. So 2018 through 2016. Similar story to Anglewood. The ratio dropped every year to to the point where it got to the low 60s. Uh this
just shows that over that period of time even though the assessments didn't change you could see the final column just based on changes in the tax rate. So that's based on the the budgets every year the taxes did increase for for the average residential property owner to the tune on average of about $197 a
year. That was the average trend prior to the revaluation. This is our bod 2024 revaluation comparison before and after. So the column the middle column is the 2023 representation. The column on the right
is the 2024 postreval. So the total value the the total ratable is basically the the uh the sum of all accessessible all taxable properties in BOD prior to the revaluation was 645 billion.
After the revaluation the total value of the town nearly doubled to $1.2 billion. So I think when the average person sees that their concern is going to be as my taxes are going to go through the roof. It's not the case
and this is the evidence of that. So the next the next step down below that is that the average residential assessment in Bagota from 2023 was 264,000. That increased to 494,000 in 2024. But the next line shows the total
budget, school, county, and town for the burough of BOD for 2023 and then 2024. You'll see BGOTA's budget in 2023 was 27.8 million and in 2024 it was 28.2 bill 28.2 million.
So even though the real estate values, the assessments basically doubled, the budget was maybe a 2% increase, which is pretty typical for what it was for the six years leading up to that in Mota. And that's what I think most towns experience because if if a town was to
double its budget along with increasing the the rate the values, you'd be you'd be you'd be creating some revenue that you didn't need. That's not what this process is, right? Reassessment revaluation is a revenue neutral program. It's just made to make sure
that the distribution of the taxes is is equitably spread. Below that, and this I thought this was interesting actually, the average residential tax bill in Bota in 2023 was $11,363.
The average residential tax bill in 2024 postrevaluation was $11,53. That's a $140 increase, which is $50 less than what the average increase was for residential property for the six years prior. And that's possible. It's
possible that that that can happen. The final slide uh that I have is uh this is actually from the bureau of New Milford who just completed a reevaluation in 2025. Uh same story. The total value of the town was 1.6 billion in 2024. that
increased to 3.1 billion in 2025 after the revaluation. The average assessed value for a residential property increased from $332,000 to $643,000. But you see again what happened to the budget there. Little bit more of an increase than BOD had, but not as a
result of the revaluation. Those things are are are not tied together. That's really the overview that I wanted to give to lead Robin. Uh my contact is is here. My email, please for the residents, please feel free to reach
out. I can't encourage you that enough. Please call or email. We're happy to to talk with you about the process as for and offer as much as we can. >> All right. Thank you. And now, >> yeah, thank you Patrick. That was a very good introduction. um what a
reassessment is and why it needs to be done. What I'd like to do for you now is kind of take you through how we're going to accomplish this. >> You know what? Could you just give us one second? Let's just flip All right. So, that was a very good
introduction by Patrick um of explaining what a reassessment is, why a reassessment needs to be done. Now, what I would like to do for you is take you through how we're going to accomplish this reassessment process. So, what I have prepared for you is a seven-step
process on how we're going to accomplish this this goal. Um, I also have an introduction presentation. This is also posted on the website, but Patrick covered it already. So, I'm just going to skip over to the seven steps. So, the first step of the reinspection
process is the inspection of all properties. Right. So, about two weeks ago, um, every property owner should have received an introduction letter from our company with a brochure. And that's kind of the kickoff to the reassessment process. It introduces our
company as the company that's going to aid Patrick in this process um of uh bringing these property values up to 100% fair market value. So in the coming weeks, inspectors from appraisal systems will be going out to
each and every property. All right. Typically, we work from 9:30 to 5 for our first visits. So our first visits are unannounced. Okay. Um, each one of our inspectors are going to be wearing appraisal systems ID, which looks exactly like the one
that's on this slide. So, this is important. All property owners need to know that our inspectors are wearing this identification and they should under no circumstance let anyone onto their property or into their home that does
not have this appraisal systems ID. Okay. Each one of our inspectors information will be posted on our website. So you could go on our website and check their IDs. And also what we like to do for the property owners, even though we're coming unannounced because
it would be impossible to set up an inspection with every property owner, what we like to do is on our website tell the property owners when your property was issued and to which inspector it was issued to. So, although we can't give you an exact day and time
when we're going to be at the property, once your property is issued, you could expect the inspector to be there within the next couple of weeks, two to three weeks, we say. Okay. So, you'll be able to go on our website. It'll say inspector location. You click on that spreadsheet. It'll tell you when your
property was issued and to which inspector. Then, you could go to a separate spot on our website, click on that inspector's information, so you'll actually have a heads up of who's going to be coming to your property. Now, the actual inspection itself, there's two components. There's a site
inspection, and then there's the actual inspection of your property. So, the site inspection takes place before the inspector will step foot onto the property. He or she is going to look at the surrounding area to see if there's any influences that affect the value in a positive or negative way. So, this
slide just shows some examples of uh positive site influences. So if your property had a view of say like the Manhattan skyline or or a view of a body of water, those would be considered positive sight influences.
On the flip side, there are some negative site influences and this slide will show you some negative influences. So the picture in the top top uh left hand corner is a beautiful colonial style home, but they have high tension power lines that run right through their
property. The picture on the left is a property that's located right next to the railroad tracks. And then um the picture on the bottom right is a property that's located on a busy street. Okay, so these would all be examples of negative site influences. Once the site inspection is done, that's
when the inspector will walk onto the property, ring the doorbell, introduce themselves, and they're going to perform the next inspection. So, what the inspector is going to do is measure all the improvements on the property and they're going to create a sketch of all the improvements on the property. So,
this is an example of a Cape Cod style home. And what the inspector will do is measure each section. Can I? And if you see here, this is what the final product will look like. Okay? So each section of the house will be labeled and numbered to tell you how big
that section is. So just to go through one or two sections, the main section of this house right here is one and a half stories that's located above a basement. So that would be the main part of the house. Then the left side of the house, you
have an unfinished attic above the garage. So again, each section of the house will be labeled and sketched on a property record card. One of the things the inspector is going to note as they're taking these measurements are the style of the home.
Here's a slide that shows you the five major uh styles that are out there. uh you usually got your one-story ranch, your one and a half story Cape Cod, twotory colonial, your split level, and your ble home. They're also going to look at the
quality and condition of the home. Okay? And this slide just shows you different types of qualities and conditions of homes. Now, since we come to your property during that first visit unannounced, we're very aware that most times the property owner will not be home during
that time. So, what the inspector is going to do is their best to perform that exterior inspection. Okay? We're going to do that exterior inspection unless there's a no trespassing sign or there's any lock gates, loose dogs, things of that nature. But otherwise, we are going to walk around the property
and try to get that sketch done because the exterior inspection is the most time consuming. So, we like to do that during the first visit when it's still light out. And then when we come back to do the interior inspection, we're we're not bothering the property owner for too long. All right. So, if you're not home
during that first visit, you could expect to find a card like this on your door. We just call this our appointment card. And what it's going to say on the card is what day and time will be returning to do that interior inspection. Now, since you, the property
owner, wasn't home during 9 to5 during that first visit, we're going to assume that that property owner is typically not home during those hours. So, when we set up these appointments, they're typically in the evening hours between 5 and 7. Okay? So, if you come home one
evening and you find this card on the door, there'll be a date and time for that interior inspection. If that appointment is good for you, there's nothing you need to do except be home during that time frame. If that time is not convenient for you, you could call our office. There's a number on that
card and reschedule a mutually convenient time. Even though we set up these appointments in the evening, we do take obviously morning appointments, appointments throughout the day, and we even work on some weekends, okay, to accommodate the property owners as much as possible.
And that brings us to the interior inspection of the home. Now, the interior inspection is much less time consuming than the exterior. It really only takes about 5 or 10 minutes. So, we do do not take any measurements of the inside. All we're doing is we're doing a quick walk through. We're noting things
such as the room count. We're looking at the overall condition of the the house. We're looking at the condition of the kitchens and bathrooms. And then we're also looking for some finished areas. Okay. So, um we're looking to see if the house has a basement. If the house does
have a basement, whether or not that basement is finished, and then also whether or not the house has an attic. And what we determine an attic as being is uh an attic that has fixed stairs to to the attic. So we're not inspecting any atticss that have a pull down
entrance or you know an entrance where you need a ladder or things. So we're just looking for fixed stairs. Things such as heat central air that will also be noted as well. So as I mentioned the condition and quality of the kitchens will be examined. And this slide just shows you
different extremes of, you know, condition and qualities of kitchens. Next slide does the same thing, showing you different types of qualities and conditions of bathrooms. Now, in regard to those finished areas, the basements and atticss, what the
inspector is looking for is typically three components: walls, floors, and ceilings. So if the basement has any um one of those components, it is considered a partial finished basement and then we will tell um the property
owner what percentage finish it is. All right? So if you have walls and floors around the entire um basement, then that's about a twothird finished basement. Okay? And then this base uh slide just shows different qualities and finishes of basements. All right? So we
do note that as well. Now, as far as the interior inspection, uh, with technology these days, we do perform the interior inspection in two ways. One is a physical inspection and then also if there's anyone that, um,
does not want anyone to enter their home for whatever reason, we do offer a virtual uh, inspection as well. that could take place at that first visit or um you could call our office and set up a time where we will set up a video
conference. Nowadays, you know, everyone has uh at least one app that we could communicate whether it's uh FaceTime if both parties have like an iPhone or a Zoom meeting and uh those virtual options have been working very well. Um we just link up with the property owner.
We have the property owner stand outside the property first so we could verify the house, the address, and then our inspectors got very good at telling the property owner kind of what to do, where to point their phone, what to look for, and
it really works very well. And that also helps people that work late or early um to get the company into um the property to take a look at that interior information because as Patrick mentioned that does play a big role in
the final value, the interior condition. Now, if we come to your property during that first visit and you're not home, we're going to leave that yellow sticker on your door setting up that call back appointment. If we don't hear from the property owner, we're going to show up
to that appointment that we left on the card. In the event that the property owner is not home during that time, what we're going to do is we're going to leave another card on the door. And we just call this our blue estimate card. This is an internal term. But on this
card, it's going to list what the house will end up having listed on the property record card if we do not gain entrance into the home at the end of the process. So, we're going to tell you up front how many units the property has,
the number of bathrooms, whether or not the house has a basement. We're going to estimate the basement finish, uh, and the condition and quality of the house, kitchens and bathrooms. So, we're going to put all that information on this card for the homeowner to see. Now, if you
come home one evening and you find this flu estimate card on your door and it's incorrect, there's no reason to panic at that point. We're still in town. Just call our office and we'll send an inspector out or set up a virtual inspection and we'll correct the information. Okay.
Now before I jump ahead, the reason why we want to be upfront with the information on this blue estimate card is if at the end of this process we do not gain entrance into the home,
case law supports the fact that we must estimate that property at the highest most reasonable potential. Okay, so a lot of property owners are going to ask what does that mean? So, the way I like to explain it is if you have a small ranch style home, let's just say 1,200 square f feet
and it has a basement, it's reasonable to assume that that small ranch has an updated kitchen and an updated bathroom. It's reasonable to assume that if that ranch has a basement that the basement is finished, possibly has a bathroom. It is not reasonable to assume that that
1,200 foot ranch has five bathrooms. Okay? So we have to estimate within reason at the highest most reasonable potential. Now this isn't in place as a penalty. It's to give the
property owners that cooperated with this reassessment process and had let the inspectors into the home gives them the reassurance that no advantage will be gained by anyone who doesn't allow entrance into the home. So, either the
information on the card is going to be correct or it's going to be overstated and hopefully the property owner calls and lets us in so we could correct the information. So, our goal is to by the end of this process get into about 90% of the homes and that's the only way to
ensure that everyone was treated uniformly and paying their fair share in taxes. That's our ultimate goal as Patrick mentioned. So this is again to ensure the people who cooperate that no advantage will be gained.
Now as far as condos, co-ops, townhouse properties, um the inspection process is exactly the same. They're going to have an exterior inspection which includes a site inspection and an interior inspection. Really, the only difference is instead of measuring the units for
condos and town homes, we typically rely on master deeds to get the the square footage, the layouts, and the model types. Now, as step one is going on the inspection process, step two is also happening at the same time. While the inspectors are out in the field
collecting all the information, the appraisers are back at the office analyzing the data and starting to prepare the values. One of the first things that uh Patrick and myself are going to do is uh drive the town, drive the city and carve up
the town into homogeneous neighborhoods. Okay. And this will be the basis of our land values and this ensures that we are treating similar properties alike and therefore it helps us keep uniform with our our values. This neighborhood map
will be available um at the end of the process and it'll be posted on our website for everyone to review. Third step is the review process. So once all the inspections are done and we analyze all the information and we place
our values um Patrick and and our company will review all our values and once we feel comfortable this is where we want to share this information with you with the property owners. And that brings us to step number four when we send out the preliminary values. I want
to point out that this is step four in the sevenstep process. So when these letters go out probably sometime at the end of the year, these are just still very much preliminary. What we like to do is share the information with you first and then we would like to hear
from you. At this point, we will have enough information where we could update our website with a lot of useful information. So, our website will be updated at this time with that
neighborhood map that I just mentioned. At this point, our values will be final enough where we'll know where that total aggregate is headed for 2026. So by having that piece of information, we
will be able to predict what the tax rate will be going forward. It's obviously an estimate and it's going to be contingent upon the budget staying uh neutral. But what it does, it's going to give the property owners an insight as to whether or not they're going to be in
line for a tax increase, tax decrease, or they're pretty much going to stay the same. So we're going to post that information on our website. Okay. So, there will be a tax impact calculator where a property owner could go onto our website, type in their old value, their new value. We'll do the math for you, and you could see what your projected
taxes are looking like going forward. Um, what we like to do is post all the comparable sales that took place over the last two years. Um, that's very useful. So, if you're, you know, located in neighborhood one
and you're a Cape Cod style home and we have you assessed for, you know, $550,000, what you could do is go on our website, look at Cape Cod sales that happened in neighborhood one. And if they're selling between 500 and 600, you should have the confidence that you would be able to
sell your house for 550, which we put on, and that will give you the confidence that your assessment is correct. Another thing that we post on our website which gets very good feedback is we'll post all the assessments on our on our website. We want to be as
transparent as possible. So using that same example, sometimes that property owner doesn't know how to find a good comparable sale or maybe that good comparable sale just doesn't exist. But a lot of times property owners know their street very well. And if they could compare their assessment with
their neighbors assessments, as long as they fall in line with a house that they know their house is a little bit better than versus a house that, you know, one is a little bit better than theirs and they're in the middle. Again, that will give them confidence that the assessment placed on their property was correct. So
once those value letters go out, we uh post all this information on our website, but still there's a lot of people and I encourage people to do this. Um, you'll be able to call our company and set up a one-on-one meeting. These meetings, once again, could be in
person or over the phone or virtual. And we will explain to you how we came up with the value. First and foremost, we'll go over the property record card. We'll make sure all the information that was collected on the on your property was correct. We'll explain how we came up with the assessments and we'll help
you look at comparable sales to see if you could sell your house for that assessment that we put on as of October 1st of 2025 this year. So those uh we like to call them informal meetings take place after those letters go out. Then
that brings us to step number six. This will probably take place sometimes sometime early next year. Once all those meetings are uh conducted, we will review all the information that we gathered from those meetings and then at
that point we have to submit the information over to the county. So that's when the assessments will become final for 2026. Okay? And again, that will happen sometime next year. And what I always like to say is if you still don't agree
with the assessment at that point, it's not the end of the road. As Patrick mentioned, every year you're entitled to file an appeal on your property. So if you thought, you know, we placed an assessment on your property that was too high, you came down to a meeting, you
still weren't satisfied with the revision, you still have the opportunity to file an appeal on your property with the Bergen County Board of Taxation. Typically the deadline to file an appeal is April 1st, but because the city is going through a reassessment this year, they extend that deadline one month. So
this year or 2026, the deadline will be May 1st. And that concludes the sevenstep process of the reassessment process. >> Thank you. And and um can you just
provide your name and phone number for everybody here? >> Absolutely. So once again, my name is Robert Brasha. Um, our company's phone number is 20114938530 and our website is www.asij.com. >> Okay. Thank you. I'm going to um thank
you for that comprehensive presentation. I know I believe this is already on the city website. Um, and I would like to open up for questions from members of the council. I'm going to start from right to left. Um,
so any questions from the council? Um, Councilman Wilson, >> thank you for your presentation. Good evening. Um, it it seemed to be pretty comprehensive. Uh there may have been one or two things that you may not have
covered or maybe it's in in the details, but what do people do that have already had assessments that had renovations done previously like within the I I don't know the span.
So, is it good for 3 years, two years last year where they took out a permit, they had an addition, they did a new kitchen, windows, what whatever that may be. So, it's it's I appreciate the question, Councilman. It's a it's a
clean slate this program. So, you know, me meaning that we have to inspect every single property. So, if any residents had improvements to their property, and I did want to clarify, too, because we we Rob and I will use the word improvement pretty pretty frequently.
Improvement is in in assessing speak just means building, something that's beyond the the vacant property. So, you'll hear that a lot in when we speak. But if somebody uh was assessed for an improvement in the last 2 or 3 years that was relevant in those two or three years because they were being brought up
to their their assessed value was being brought up to how the city's assessment model was. Every single property owner will be assessed moving forward relative to the condition of their property as it is as of October 1st, 2025.
So everyone will be uh it's not like they'll be double year or additionally assessed. They're going to be assessed just like every other resident in Anglewood for what their property represents as of October 1st of this year. >> And thank you for that. But I I think
that the concern still remains if someone was to excess that let's say $10,000 in 2023 and it went from 8,200 to $10,000. And that was their assessment due to the renovations,
>> right? And after you guys are done, it comes to let's say $12,000, an additional $2,000. Do at that point, do they get a chance to appeal? >> So they they can't. So you you wouldn't be first of all, anyone could appeal for any reason. You you could you could take
your shot and and make your case to to the tax board at any time at any year. Um nobody's prohibited from doing that. However, each year you're assessed and taxed based on what what your property is. Um, so if you remember the first
slide that that I popped up with that row of Cape Cod style houses, let's say that one of the homes on that street, uh, let's say, let's assume all those homes have unfinished basements and one the the one guy finished his basement and he put a put a bathroom down there
and and it did result in uh, let's say an assessment increase of $50,000 to his property assessment and that translated to $1,250 a year. I think to answer your question and I hope this kind of clarifies it because and it's a question
that we have that I think folks um question I was kind of punished for this already you know like I was already exactly I was already taxed for this and I think the the the way that it it that I would try to appropriately explain it is that you weren't assessed and taxed for that before because you didn't have
that element in your house before what we've done in the years prior to the revaluation when you completed that finished basement we're now assessing and taxing ing you for a house in Anglewood that is a Cape Cod style home that has a finished basement and a bathroom down there.
>> I I understand that, Patrick. I'm particularly talking about the residents that have been accessed um previously because of the codes and the permits, right? Correct. >> And that and that was adjusted by your office at that particular time. Um and
then you come back 2 3 5 years later um and some of these people are residents are now >> seniors if you will. >> Sure. >> And the concern is badge or no badge >> people entering the home
>> for something they believe that they've already been assessed at. >> Sure. >> Or gotten credit for. >> Um and then those individuals do not feel comfortable letting people in. and then we get a um elevated estimate
for their taxes. >> Yeah, I I really appreciate that. I I appreciate the burden that property taxes are on all residents and especially seniors. I think the the for the best way that we can explain it is that the goal going forward is to assess
everybody in the same manner. So that example that I made with the Cape Cod style house, let's say that those homes were actually worth, let's say they're all worth $400,000 and prior to the revaluation, that meant that they were all assessed at 250 except for that one person who did the
upgrades, they went to from 250 to 300. Okay, which translated to a market value of 475 moving forward. And I and I appreciate that that frustration that residents had. I don't know. I don't know that I could appease anybody of that because
what the system is is that going forward we have to reassess everybody at the same level. And what I might say to that person is that that may be frustrating. But if your house is more valuable than the rest of the homes on that street, if your home is worth
475 and the rest are worth 425, then that's what the assessment should be. Because if the amenities like guide that and the market guides that, then that's equitable. That's that's fair. That's what that's what our goal is to make sure everyone's paying their fair share.
What we can't do is and we what you wouldn't do because if you you would have to do it for the entire town is say, well, we assessed you for a finished basement two or three years ago. So, you paid two or three years tax of that finished basement. So, we're not going to assess you for that finished basement. we're going to bring you back
in line with everybody else because that creates inequity. Then that person is paying less than what their house actually represents. Does that make sense? >> Absolutely. >> It it absolutely makes sense. But I can only tell you that that's a concern of
seniors um new homeowners that already have had the assessment and now it seems like they're doubling that the county is doubling down. >> Thank you, Mr. President. >> Thank you. I'm going to piggyback off of that question and kind of answer it in a
different way because I this question always comes up. Um, a property owner's tax implications going forward solely depends on what your property individual property increase is compared to the entire city. So, for example, if that
net taxable value doubles, let's just keep the maths very simple. If your individual property doubles, you're going to be tax neutral. If your property goes up more than two times, you're going to have a property tax increase. If your property goes up less
than two times, you're going to have a property decrease. So, the example that you're giving, and I totally understand it, if your property if you took out a permit and you already got assessed on that improvement, your property card
already reflects that. So to use that example, if the entire town's gone up two times and your property record card is correct, so you're only going up two times because that's what the market is indicating, your property is going to be tax neutral. Now your neighbor who
finished the basement without a permit, their property record card doesn't reflect that. So now your property is going up two times because of the market, but also they have an additional increase because now their property record card is getting corrected because
they weren't paying their fair share in taxes because they did work without a permit. That person more than likely is going to go up more than two times and therefore they will have a property increase going forward and the person who took out the permit will probably
end up being neutral or going down. Thank you. Thank you. Go ahead. Councilman Tokayer. >> Yeah. I have I have a question. Um first of all, can you repeat the last thing about properties going up in value two times? What you just said earlier?
>> Yeah. If if everyone doesn't mind, it would take about like maybe five minutes, but I do have an example that kind of ties in this whole process and what it means for the property owner. Uh it's up on the slide right here. So, here's just an example of property A
right in town right now. Let's just say for example, they're assessed at 475. Okay? And again, as Patrick mentioned, that 475 is the value that was placed on your property back in 2011. Okay? That hasn't changed. With a tax rate of
3.116, this property is paying 14,81 in taxes. Okay? Now we all know that that net taxable value is going into increase for 2026. Patrick gave us the examples in
bod. But now let's just assume we don't know this yet that the increase the total increase in the net taxable value goes up 1.4 times for 2026. It's a mathematical equation. We're not
here to raise taxes. The city of Angle is going to collect the same amount of money again assuming budgets are neutral. Now there's every year you got to factor in the school uh the local and uh the county. Putting that aside simple mathematical equation you take the tax
rate divide it by 1.4 and in this example the tax rate for 2026 will be 2.226. Okay. So now when you apply that new tax rate to examples going forward in 2026, this is what's going to happen. So the
amount of money that's going to be collected is going to be the same. But if you look at each property owner as an individual slice of the pie, the slices are going to change. Okay? So now the same property that was assessed for 475,
we put an assessment on at 665 next year. Okay. Now, this 665 is a 1.4 increase of 475. That's why I chose it. If your property increases at the same rate as
that entire net taxable value, when you apply the new value to the new tax rate, your taxes are going to be identical. Okay? But I'm not here to say that's going to happen in every case. There are going to be examples where assessments
increase more than that 1.4 times like in this this example. So if you go from 475 to 725, you're going to have a tax increase. If your property increases less than 1.4 times,
you're going to see a property tax decrease. So what is the what is the number that increases or decreases the tax rate? Correct? >> Because the way you come up with your taxes is that you take your total budget, >> right?
>> You get your net taxable value, right? >> You divide one into the other. There's your tax rate. And then you take that one tax rate and you apply it to all the assessments in the city. >> So, okay. All right. Okay. I Okay. Okay. I get it. I get it. All right. Thank you.
You're welcome. >> Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman David. >> Yes. Thank you. Um, great presentation. Thank you so much. My question, you want um equity and everything, but I'm I'm just nervous that um I fall in one of these categories. I bought my home for
500K. That means I'm going to have an increase, but there's homes in certain boards who bought theirs for 200 2 million or 3 million. They're going to have a decrease. I don't think that's equity. You understand? Because we are separated by wards and it's different. You got to take the streets in considerations, the pathways, the
schools, and everything. So, I'm just I'm just looking at it that I think there's more distribution that's not going to be put on my ward, you know, >> to to offset the other wards. >> Well, I can apprec I can appreciate that. Um the thing I would I would say though is I think we have to wait to see
because I wouldn't I wouldn't assume that there's not going to be an an equitable shift in the residentials especially. There might be like a little bit of deviation from and and I and I appreciate that you're um you're you're focusing on the wards. I I I think from an assessing standpoint, I'm thinking
more of housing stock and zoning and and and size of home and all those things that it's we're probably kind of talking about the same thing. But >> yes, um I'm a I'm an educator, but I'm also a real estate broker in New York. Okay. So, I'm looking at it and I did my own um comps and assessment, so I will
get an increase for $3,000 on my home and I see it. >> Okay. >> Um >> go ahead. No, let me finish. But I see the decrease in other wards that I can see it already happening because I looked them on on um property records and I saw certain homes who bought homes
for 845,000 and sold it for 2 million. They're going to have a decrease. I'm looking at the offsets we shift to the third ward. You know that we're going to get an increase. They would get a decrease. That's all I'm I'm looking at. >> Would you answer that question, please?
I think that I I don't know that I like I would I wouldn't mind looking at some of the data points that you're looking at because from what I'm hearing if there's if you're saying that there's homes that are assessed at 845,000 that are selling for 2 million >> th those homes are not going to see a
decrease in assessment. Those those those homes are going to see a probably a similar shift in than than homes in in in the other warts. That's an example of a of an appreciating market. That's an example of an appreciating property relative to the assessment. So, and and
I and I don't mean to say that there's not going to be potentially some examples of of of deviation that there's properties, but I don't from what I can see now is part of what what I do as assessor is every deed that comes through >> literally every single deed we have has
to process through my office. I have to gauge that for whether it's a good usable sale or foreclosure or whatever. And I don't I don't I think residentially especially I feel like there's there's been a a pretty general appreciation over that market. I think in the in the highest levels of the
residential market there there's probably starting to be some some decline, you know, or even you even like balance. But we have to do the work, you know, we we have to do we have to go through and analyze everything and do our due diligence. Like Rob had said,
everything is going to be posted. We won't be arbitrarily assign arbitrarily assigning numbers. We're going to be assigning numbers based on the appraisal process to the best of our ability. >> Okay. So, you're not going to just deviate and have certain wards pay more to certain wards. Um,
>> absolutely not. We will be we will be valuing each and every individual property within the appraisal process with full due diligence with sales comparison primarily for the residential properties. For commercial properties, both the income approach and the cost approach to value will be will be the
focus. Every single every single property will have to be appraised because potentially we have to be able to defend each and every one of those in a tax appeal setting or in a tax court type setting. >> It seemed like um the Bergen County be filled with a lot of um tax appeals. But
my question to you is also is that um would you come with a blueprint with a computer with the everything from city hall knowing what the taxpayers are paying now and knowing the scope of the home and everything? You have the blueprint already and who did work on their homes and who did not. You're going to have that in a digital.
>> So I'll let Rob maybe speak speak to speak to that. I I I just want to just want to say that >> you know do double work because they Englewood has um who paid for >> sure bathroom or whatever. So I want you to make sure you come with >> Yeah. I mean, we'll we have we have all the records and I and I believe that Rob I'll let Rob speak to the technology
that they use. But when the appraisers when we come out from a tax assessing standpoint, I'm not looking at how much you pay in tax. I'm I'm at a looking in a vacuum. I'm looking at the value of the property. That's that's the total focus. >> Yeah. But I want you to come with the blueprint also that who paid for their
renovations and who did not. So you have to take that in consideration. So I hope you have something a working something a document. So, so the >> property record. >> Yeah. The >> you're you're asking for is the property record card with the sketch. Those are all going to be to uh 100% updated. >> Okay.
>> And the the appraisal company will also have the software that you they use is is the same software that our office uses. So, when the appraisers go, they're going to be able to see the permit detail for anything that's an accessible permit. We enter every one of those in the system and they'll be able to see that the inspectors when they go
out. So, they are not just walking through and using their their reference experience. They also have that that information. Oh, this property had a finished basement permit taken last year. So, they'll be they'll be looking at all that and have access to that >> and flood zones considered as well, right? >> Great. Yeah, great point. Yeah, we we've
looked at that a fair bit in the last year because there was there was actually some shifting in the FEMA flood maps >> I think in 2019. So, we had to account for some of that. We actually made some adjustments to certain properties this year because of that in the assessment model. But, absolutely, that's kind of to Rob's uh the slide about the the
influences on the property. Thank you questions, >> Councilman Rosen. >> Thank you and thank you for that presentation. Um, so just to go back to the first slide, like you have 10 homes in a row and let's just use the Anglewood
averages. Let's say they're all valued now at 450, but we just with the with the 67 >> ratio, they're all let's say could probably sell for 700. So >> do you agree with that premise? Yeah. Okay.
So, let's say, and this is piggybacking on some of the previous questions. So, let's say one of those homes three years ago did put in the finished basement. Now, what would that home likely have been reassessed at? You let's say
baseline is 450 from 2014. Do you say a finished basement is worth 50, so now it's 500. Or do you say, "Aha, you did work. Now you're 700 and plus 50 because you put the basement in.
Now you're 750. So you're like almost double your your neighbors." Which would it be 500 or 750? >> I have an I haven't am I making sense there? If I can, I'm going to pick a pick a general number because the I think the real answer is that we have to get to that point and that's the modeling that they're
>> but what would they what would they have been in 2022 when they fought when they got the permit that their finished basement is now, you know, used is is of use. They've now upgraded their home. >> So, >> they got reassessed. Did they get reassessed to the market value as of
2022 or the 2014 plus that improvement? they would have been assessed for for equity sake. They would have been assessed within the the existing assessment model for Anglewood in 2022. So what appraisal systems will build for us is is kind of what we have
now in an older model. There's hundreds of variables in the assessment model. Update, you know, number of kitchens, the condition of the kitchens, bathrooms, the level of finish and amount of finish in the basement. All those all those variables go in and each each of them have a have a a factor
that's tied to a state manual for construction costs. That's there's depreciation that's factored into it. I think to try to answer your question, if if somebody did a finished basement in in the older model, let's say it increased the assessment $15,000
now that that might translate to 20,000 or $25,000 because the model is much more valuable. Um, but it's difficult to it's difficult to tease out is your question what the tax dollars paid. >> No. The rest of the house been dragged
into 2022 valuation. >> Madam President, can I uh just weigh in here? >> Yeah. Yes. >> So, and correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Wilkins, but if you pull a permit, you finish your basement, you get an added assessment. >> Yeah. >> The added is based only on the value of
that new feature. Correct. >> They don't go in in the added assessment process and re revalue the entire property. >> And that's I think the point of why you don't get hit twice. >> Yeah. Okay. >> All right. >> Um that was kind of to your question, Councilman. >> I apologize if I miss if I misunderstood
that. >> Okay. >> Tag team. Um on some of the slides you had very nice furniture, but it would seem to me that furniture should not be part. So like how much are you influenced by that?
Like should should someone like go and take out their nice furniture and go to the dump and get, you know, rats running around it. So you think it's a less expensive home? >> Excellent question. >> It is a good question. We get that a lot. Please don't do that.
Our inspectors are trained not to look at that. So what we're doing is we're looking at fixtures, >> okay? Fixtures of the home. So, not how you decorate the home, not your furniture, how you paint it, what kind of stove you have, refrigerator, those are not fixtures. So, we're looking at >> because you mentioned share carpet,
which obviously is a bit dated, but that should not be part of it, right? >> Personal, it's personal property. So, >> okay. All right. >> Chandeliers, >> so an eccentric with crummy furniture, but Picassos on the wall. It's irrelevant, right? Okay. All right. Not
not not my house, but All right. Okay. Um, how about, and forgive me for the phrase, uh, bad neighbors. Let's say you come ne and there 20 barking dogs ne 20 barking dogs next door and the person's like, I can't sell my house cuz, you
know, someone comes in, they're hearing, you know, 101 Dalmatians next door and and they run away. But like you're saying, I live in a $5 million mansion, but it's a hell hole. Um, what what do you do about that?
>> But but then again, they might move away the next day and then it's >> is that a fixture? >> Well, I'm just saying, you know, can some can someone bring that up as a concern? >> I residents could can and should bring up anything that's a concern, >> but is that some is that something you
would listen to or you just say? >> I think I think there there's there's going to be subjectivity for for, you know, in in how we respond to to to any of that. I think the thing that I would say is that it really depends on how permanent in nature you know the the influence is. Um
>> so the angle kennel club would be one thing versus the eccentric neighbor. Yes, there I don't think there's an angle. Okay. >> I've had conversations with residents. You know, one thing that comes up is is residents might be affected for a short period of time. When I say short period of time, 2, three years, a construction
project is going on next to the house. And and and the the the the difficult thing is to answer those folks to say like, you know, it's it's something that's going to be corrected at some point. But what we can do is if there's something that that really affects the property in a measurable way, we can
apply what's called a partial assessment. um where where we we make an adjustment to a property and by coding it as a partial assessment I review those every single year to make sure like an example if somebody's affected by an oil plume from a contaminated property once that's remediated they
might get a credit for that period of time but once that's remediated I would remove the partial and the value would go back up to a a you know the modeling I would say at that point >> and how about some physical things like a stream on your property or
uh non-usable and because of a a very steep slope or a rocky face. Is that part of the >> Absolutely. Those are all things that we take note of on our inspection. And uh yes, we encourage property owners to give us as much information.
>> As appraisers, we like as much information as we could get and then we'll make a decision on what you know is used towards the valuing. Yeah. >> But yes, those do affect property value. >> Oh. Uh you know when something again completely one of my neighbors actually
25 years ago moved she felt that the new flight pattern was literally going directly above her house. I I I I don't know if that was true and she said it was driving her crazy. She sold and left. Is is that something you can assess because that's going to be you
know maybe every 10 minutes but maybe not the 10 minutes you're there. >> Yeah. or or is that something that you might say that's in in her head and not not a real hardship? >> If that affected the market, it would probably affect the market in that specific area or neighborhood. So, it
would be reflected in the sale price already. That's very subjective where >> oh, it only affects this house but not that house. >> So, usually affect as a whole. >> Okay. Okay, now the the real questions. Those are the leadup. You didn't mention about uh assessment of businesses and
commercial properties. Are you doing that as well? >> Yes. >> So, what uh so obviously you're not looking at the share carpet there. How do you do those assessments? >> Yeah. So, there's three approaches to value. Um I think Patrick touched upon it. So, for residentials, we focus on the sales approach that rules,
>> but then we also use the cost approach in value and residential. for commercial sales always rule, but then we rely on the income approach. >> Okay. >> So, we sent out chapter 91 uh income and expense sheets to property owners. We're going to gain uh all that rental data
and then we're going to place values on the commercials building based on the income that they could produce. >> And vacant land, you just go by what you think the market would would hold for that. >> Correct. And this might be more of a question for Patrick. Uh what percentage
of our tax revenue is from commercial properties now? I think it's historically been 28 29%. >> I off the top of my head I don't I don't know. I'd have to I can get you that in the morning. I I could send that out to you and let you know with you know precisely what that is but yeah off the top of my head I don't know. >> But that that might change with this uh
riaval. >> Yeah. Yeah. I I think and I and I think it it's likely that it will >> residential outstripped commercial. >> Is it split? Is it split? Is it 6040? No, I don't think it's 6040. It's >> typically been like 72. >> I was going to say I think I think what
I' what I've seen in the past in this like the mid70s is is been shouldered by the residentials. But I I think that there's you know I like I hesitate a little bit to to commit too much, but there's been appreciation in a significant amount of the commercial sector that we have here in town that I think will hopefully take some of the
burden off the residentials like a significant a significant uh uptick in some of those markets. >> All right. Thank you very much. >> All right. You're welcome. Thank you. >> Um, thank you. As the longest standing mayor of this city, I have the good
fortune of lots of phone calls coming in on this very dear subject. Um, this I think your presentations, gentlemen, Patrick, Robert, were excellent and it underscores the need for us to not approve everything that
comes before the planning board or the board of adjustment, but to look more favorably disposed with flood planes and all the other issues that we have on industrial expansion or commercial expansion in areas where they'll improve things. And I think that this
presentation uh tonight underscores that if it's 7030 that we increase that burden on people who don't sleep in our city or age um at a time where they may not be able to afford to have their sunsetting years here. Um, one of the
things that I drew from the beginning, um, communications that you had was that owners will be hesitant to invest in their own property. >> That they'll actually hide the fact that they're doing something and not seek out a permit.
>> The permit, as I understand it, is there to make sure that you don't have an unscrupulous uh worker in your home. they place they, you know, the electric people will look inside, then they'll bring the wires, then they'll cover it to make sure you're safe and that people will cut
corners to avoid the process. How do you prevent that? And is this permit process a big resource for you in doing these assessments? >> Yeah, it's it's it's it's it's a huge resource for us and um period. That's
it's a it's a huge resource for us. I think the one of, you know, my biggest objectives in this type of program is is the the public relations side of it and and the one thing that, you know, almost every day when we speak with residents about this, it's to encourage them to
participate. And what I mean by that is, and I generally will say this, no one is going to force themselves to try to come on your property. If you don't want us there, we're not going to come. But also, we follow that up with, "But here's what I want you to know. If we
can't get inside your home, we have to make assumptions about what's in there." And it's likely, like Rob said, that we're going to assume that the highest the highest potential reasonably in that. And and what inevitably happens in every town where there's a reassessment
is is there will be information passed around in in a neighborhood. And I think that's great that people talk about it. Some people have experiences in other towns, but I I just want to I hope that people also participate in the process. take that that information that you get
from folks because there is a part of this where it gets too far down the road that all those those points that Rob made about the notices that go out and then when the the postcard that come to us every year when you get that postcard in the mail and you still haven't let uh
if you decided you didn't want to let the firm in the in the property I would just want people to understand then you're going to be locked in to what that estimated estimated assessment is >> but they may have more exposure ure by letting you in if they've done improvements. >> They may. >> And then those improvements will then be
informed in your reports. >> They may. And I you're you're right. There's always that possibility that somebody will have done a certain level of work in their home that they want to roll the dice and and say like, I'm better off not letting them in. Except if that person ever wants to sell their
house because then what happens when they go to sell their house? I mentioned before that I have to research every single deed that comes through. So, inevitably, part of my primary responsibility is making sure that the sales that are that are in that study annually, I want to
avoid that ratio dipping as much as I can, right? I want it to be as true a ratio as I can. So, if I review a deed, let's say we do a reassessment next year and there's a home that's estimated at um $500,000 and then it sells for $800,000.
As the assessor, I I have to research that further. I will go to the multiple listing. I'll look at the photos of the property and then I have to for one thing I'm going to code that because there's a list of 33 codes the state has that it says don't include this in the study division of taxation because
that's not representative of what our average assessments are. And then I also have to go forward for the sake of equity for for all the other residents that have gone through the permit process people in. >> They're not doing the city or their neighbors well by doing this behind the
scenes. Correct. >> So, if >> I could just add one thing, and it's not necessarily even an assessor's issue, but the people that do the work without permits, more often than not, it comes home to roost because when they do sell that house, they have to get a
certificate of occupancy. So, our code officials go in and say, >> "You didn't pull a permit to put that bathroom in the basement." So, you get fined. You may be ordered to rip it out. So >> I I understand it, but I'm trying to underscore for people watching this YouTube and and the questions that I get
and they're robust. The one of the delicacies um is the administration's very aggressive doortodoor and I've seen it in Anglewood. I want you to know that I've gotten phone calls professionally as an immigration lawyer from um residents where the where they said it
was the police >> in our city at the door. Um why what do you need? We have gifts for the kids. They opened the door, they went in and they arrested the father. The woman then went to the center for food action with her five children to get food for the kids. And then they called me up for
legal advice. So there is a culture in this city and it's not just one ward, it's all four wards, whether relatives or people or workers that are not legal. I know you had a very kind way in in presenting that you're not going to
force yourselves in homes, but I I think it also wise whether it's done in person or virtually that there be an element or a component. Is your company set up for these delicacies? >> It is. Yeah. >> Okay.
>> Yeah. We I apologize. It just we you know one of the things we also did u after we posted the letter was was uh we worked with with appraisal system who actually had a a brochure as an example there was a an interest in in a in a Spanish language brochure of the same
that over like is an overview of the process. Um and we also uh through used AI to create the introductory letter that they sent out. We translated that to Spanish. Those are both on the on the the website as well. Um, >> do you have people who speak Spanish? Yes. >> Who will be on site?
>> Our our inspectors are bilingual and we have office staff members that are bilingual >> and they're not dressed in any particular uniform. They're casually dressed with an ID badge. >> So So our inspectors are dressed um business casual if you will. Okay.
>> So khaki pants. We have >> that as officers. We have appraisal system uh polo shirts and we do have appraisal systems vests that we created. So they are yellow. They have appraisal systems written on with their inspector on it. >> Okay. >> So
>> and and mayor, furthermore, we we've spoken with communicated with the police department. We will have all the inspectors identifications on the website obviously, but the police department will also have all of those IDs if anybody wants to verify. If a res is concerned whether or not somebody's
really an official from your company, they can call the 5682700 number and ask the person's name and that dispatcher will have it. >> Yes. >> If you can arrange that, that would be useful. And I'll give that phone number and we'll post that also. >> Okay.
>> Yes, absolutely. And uh >> that's a non-emergency phone number the residents call. >> Yep. Our inspectors encourage that. Sometimes, you know, we'll we'll give our badge give them time to make the phone call. they could call our office and they could check our website. All the inspectors are listed on our website. >> Thank you. And just a nuance question,
but my own personal experience and others in the community. During uh COVID um there was uh a lot of complaints around the synagogue because of parking and there were overflow issues and there were all kinds of delicacies where
people um live near institutional uses. We have Pleasant Avenue, the actor's home in um we have churches, synagogues as a mosque. We have all kinds of uh parking and overflow and holidays and issues that come up. Um in my home, for
example, you could have put a gondola through two major floods that I had in my basement and where you look around, everybody looks good, but all that water when somebody changes their topography on top comes into my basement. So, if
you look at my homeowner's insurance personally, and I can show you how the rate has gone over $25,000 now a year, um, a temporary appraisal will be set. If a person has a noise ordinance dispute with the house of worship, and
they show you that over the span of five years, they're still litigating this, that despite the best efforts of this house of worship, they still don't have control over this. that the house of worship may be a nuisance to them rather
than a positive experience. While it's a positive value for the rest of the city, for that immediate environment or neighbor, it's an issue. For me, for example, you know, the anxiety that goes on and the water that goes on, I know it's coming. It's a functionality of the
assessment being affected by that. I'd be resentful to have to pay more even if my house would command that. How do you make these evaluations based on the nuance? Is there a phone call and then they have proofs they bring you or they have to litigate this before the courts?
>> So I I mean I I want to defer to Rob from his process. But for you know I think our my process is similar to his in the in the way that we're moving forward. All of that is valid and and the the the best way for us to get that information. I think there's multiple opportunities that property owners will have that we've kind of, you know, shown
tonight to bring that information to the informal hearings. When the inspector comes to your home, mention that you've got flood issues. Mention that you've got, you know, like mention all those things. When you come to the informal hearings, bring photographs with you. Um, a lot of these things hopefully when
we get to that point, like Rob mentioned, some of those influence are already built into the neighborhood. The the the description, the example that you gave with the the synagogue, I think. Yeah, >> is that that is a benefit to the to the larger town, but it could be an influence to that property immediately. >> I and I because we're in litigation, I
don't want to mention certain blocks, >> but there are certain blocks that have been tremendously damaged from Ida and all the incremental flooding that we had afterwards. So that if you go in and you look on a dry day, it looks lovely and beautiful, but they're gonna get nailed
on sales. Yeah. >> Because people are going to understand fundamentally that that is a worn block or house. >> Yeah. And what what I don't want as a tax assessor is, you know, anybody that challenges their their assessment, they're going we're going to be in an appeal process similar to this. They're
going to be making their case. >> So you want to avoid that by having conversations in the beginning. >> Yeah. What we don't want is we don't want folks showing up with photographs, you know, that that clearly that's an issue. We want to know that in advance and we want to be able to model it and build that into the land value. >> I know that there the courts and the
relationships in the city try to ameilerate these issues, you know, with water shut offs and all kinds of things. There are ways that you can do that. Uh the temporary nature of this, I guess, is a good enough solution in the short run. Um, but when when should people
reach out to you if they have nuances like this? At what stage? Four and five or three and four? >> Honestly, anytime. So, Patrick gave a couple examples. If you want, you could email us. Um, on our website, there's an email address that you could just email
us information. You can mail it to our office. You could give it to the inspector. I would recommend do that first. This way we have the information handy when we're placing the value on the property. But again, as Patrick mentioned, after we place that value
during our informal meetings, that's also another opportunity to give us this information. But we would rather have it before than after, but anytime's good. We accept all information. >> It's the equitable nature of this that I think was most impactful. You started that way Patrick and again trying to
make it aativeative to older residents and and such from the different parts of the city is very significant. So uh people who have less income or medical exingencies can present that as well to you.
Yeah, I think I think folks can can they can present anything and I think the the informal hearing process is just to make really kind of clarify what that is. It's generally a one-on-one meeting where you sit down with a representative from the company who goes through they
walk through your record card with you to make sure the data is verifiable and then then any other information is is welcome at that point. We want to hear about it. >> Thank you, gentlemen. >> Okay. Um, I just have a few questions. They came to these questions were asked
to me by residents. So, I'm going to ask you quickly because I know we're past time and we have um to move on with the with the meeting. So, um, one resident asked me, "Will you do inspections on Sundays?" >> uh, if need be. Yes.
>> Okay. Um, again, just to go back quickly to the to permits and renovations, you know, when you go into a house, you're not going in My understanding is you're not going in to report people. So if somebody did do an extra bathroom or
whatever they did without a permit, you're not reporting them at that point. They don't have to worry about that. >> Not at all. So when our inspectors go out, we don't know what's legal or not, what was done legally. So we're just assessing what we see at that point. >> Um why don't you make appointments to
begin with? Why are you just showing up at PE people are nervous like like it was mentioned that you're showing up at the home and you're not making an appointment right at the beginning. Why don't you just start with an appointment? They expect you. They know that you're coming. It it's honestly just logistics. Uh roughly how many
residentials we have here? >> Uh there's about 6,900. >> Yeah, there there's close to 7,000 properties to make an appointment with every property owner. The the job would take probably three to four years to do. Um, having said that, if anyone wants a
suspic specific appointment, >> an appointment, um, they could call our office and what we do do is when the inspectors in their area, we will call them and set up an appointment. >> Okay, good. Thank you. >> So, we will accommodate as many people
as possible, but we just can't do that for seven. >> Okay. Now, I'll let people know. And then the last um question was um that let's say somebody does have a negative concern uh or negative uh factor they wanted to bring to your attention and
they don't want to let you in the house. Could they send you an email I guess or contact you let you know um I don't know whatever I have a rocky rocky area that I can't utilize. it's a negative uh factor, but and and and can they let you
know about a negative factor and still not allow you into the house understanding that you're going to assess them accordingly? >> They can absolutely do that. >> Okay. So those are all my questions and um again we you know everything we have
that uh your presentation um on the um Robert on the city website correct >> Patrick your presentation will be put on the city website tomorrow and we will have uh and everybody has gotten but we
will have on the website your contact information and if people have questions similar to what we have they could contact you and ask you as encourage it. Yes, absolutely. Please call our office anytime. We're there to help. >> Okay. Thank you very much for coming tonight and um
>> and and giving us your presentation. We really appreciate it. >> Okay. >> Thank you, >> Council President. >> Yes. >> Will they will you guys be available for anyone that may have a question out in the lobby? >> Sure. >> Sure. >> Okay. That's a great that's a great
idea. So So Okay. So, >> what you can go >> and take questions in the lobby. >> They're going to be out in the lobby. >> We'll go outside. >> Yeah. So,
>> for us, >> okay, >> Bill, you say, >> "Okay, we're go we're going to continue the council meeting now. If people have questions they want to ask directly, um they can the they can ask in the lobby
area. >> There'll be a public comment. >> No, there's going Yes, we we we have a council meeting. >> I was told when I was told by Mr. Dory and and and Mr. Farmer down there that I should come here if I had a complaint
about what's going on in my neighborhood. >> Okay. So, to them, but it's not a question to them. It's a question you ask. >> Bill, you deal with this, >> right? So, there's a public comment >> and we're not there yet. >> We can get there.
>> You can discuss anything you want. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> It's on the >> Okay. So, right now we're up to So, right now we're going to continue the council meeting. We have three ordinances for first reading. They were all discussed at the last council
meeting. I need um the first one is ordinance 2531. Can I have a motion to introduce ordinance 2531 which is Okay, let me just read in an ordinance amending chapter. Um we're going to have to have we can't
we can't do this. >> No, no, we're we're we're talking about an ordinance. We have ordinance 2531, an ordinance amending chapter years. >> All right. Uh, we we need to go on with
the meeting. Councilman Wilson, uh, can we go on with the meeting, please? >> Okay. Thanks. So, now we have ordinance 2531, an ordinance amending chapter 307 of the code of the city of Anglewood to include section 307 1.1
that defecating and urinating in public prohibited. Can I have a motion to introduce the ordinance? >> I make a motion, council president, that we introduce this. Can I have a second, please? Sec. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um Um Mr. Mr. Bailey, do you
want to just just just briefly explain what this ordinance is about? >> Uh yeah, briefly. As the chief explained, I think at our last meeting, the purpose of this ordinance is to prohibit uh people from doing defecating and urinating on public property, but also private property where they're just
randomly doing it on someone else's property. There's actually not a state statute on this. So, this is a good ordinance to help enforce that for the public health, welfare, and safety of our residents. >> Any discussion from the governing body?
>> Ju just briefly, um, Council President, uh, I I think part of the reason why this has come about is that it's been an increase and I don't want to say that they're homeless, but individuals have been violating our residents property.
So I think this is very important and it has to do with the quality of life and I'm totally behind it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other discussion? >> Yeah, just um I was assured again from a case that I had years ago that there was
a medical exception or disability if somebody had to relieve themsel. >> That's correct. Someone has an impairment or some other condition that can excuse them. >> Right. Thank you. >> You got to be a card carrier member. I don't know that you have a card
carrying requirement on it, but if a person has medicine or has a chronic issue, >> you just they have to be able to express themselves. Um, again, um, the language was in there when I saw it list. >> Right. >> Okay. Thank you. Could I have a roll
call, please? >> Councilwoman David, >> yes. >> Councilman Rosen, >> yes. >> Councilman Tokayer, >> yes. >> Councilman Wilson, >> yes. Council President Waski. >> Yes. Now we have ordinance 2532, an ordinance amending chapter 68, residency
preference of the code of the city of Anglewood to incorporate city employee class 1A public safety telecommunicator. Can I have a motion, please, that the ordinance pass on first reading and publish once by >> I make a motion, council president, that the ordinance pass on first. >> Yeah. And there'll be a public hearing
on this on September 16th. And also the last ordinance I I failed to mention will also have a public hearing on September 16th. So we have um uh Councilman Wilson introduced it. Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Uh any uh uh Mr. Bailey, do you want to
say a few words about it? >> Yeah. This ordinance purports to do is provide an amendment so that if someone was uh dispatcher or public safety telecommunicator, I guess is the technical word for 3 years and fully employed by the city that that factor be
can favorably considered in the process of evaluating them for a a position in the fire or police department. Um subject to a positive recommendation uh from the chief. >> Okay. Thank you. Any discussion for Councilman Wilson? Just for clarity that
this is for dispatchers. Yes. Yes, sir. >> Okay. Cuz you said Huh. No. Well, >> no. This is this is for your employer. >> Yes. >> Right. >> No, no, no, no, no. Just just for clarity. Um we're we're putting we're
putting a time stamp um to get to A1 and to get to A1 which is right behind uh residents which is one year that the dispatchers have to be employed with the city for
three years. >> Just just clarity. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Any other discussion from the governing body? Yansancy. Can I have a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman David, >> yes. >> Councilman Rosenstein, >> yes. >> Councilman Tokayer,
>> yes. >> Councilman Wilson, >> yes. >> Council President Waski, >> yes. Now we have ordinance 2533, an ordinance amending chapter 191, entitled fee schedule of the code of the city of Englewood. I need a motion that the ordinance pass on first reading and be published once by title only in the
record, and that a public hearing be held on September 16, 2025. So moved. >> Can I have a second, please? >> Um, Mr. Hoffman, do you want to briefly explain this? >> Uh, thank you, council president. This
also may wind up being a tag team with the city attorney. But what this is is this is to take a look and see see um define what not forprofits are and then to help define what's what is light
usage on um in in rec to put a limit on what what what it is. So if something is if there's say a a backpack giveaway, so it's there's not a heavy duty use for property and it's going to be less than 8 hours, that
would be considered light duty. This is um this is to help um reduce only the recreation fees that that are related. So if you're using a park, that would be that would be part of it. And also it this uh this is something that um either
the city manager can do or more importantly their designate. So this could be the rec director or this could be somebody else that would be able to make that decision. And then um the additional wording it's just it gives specific examples of of of some some of
the some of the um the act the activities that it would would it um would be applicable to. So thank you. >> Thank you. Um any um discussion from the governing body? Councilman Wilson? >> Yes, I appreciate this being in a draft
form. Um it's a long time to come and I I think some amendments were appropriate, but seeing that this is upon us as a draft, I I think that we need to not just include Mr. barely, but to have this a working document for the
council. So, we'll have some input in this short period of time of doing it tonight. I I think we might want to look into this a little bit because there are a lot of nonprofits that are upset about our new uh ordinances.
>> Okay. Any other comments from the governing body? Okay. Yansancy, can I have a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman David, >> yes. >> Councilman Rosenwig, >> yes. >> Councilman Toker, >> yes. >> Councilman Wilson,
>> as a draft, we're voting. >> Well, they're all drafts and they're all drafts until you approve until you vote on them. >> Yes. >> Uh, Council President Wasatski. >> Yes. >> Okay. Now, we have public comment on the
consent agenda items. I'm now um so before we start that, are there any resolutions from the consent agenda that anyone on the council would like me to pull? >> Yes.
Um 245090225 the resolution supporting driver or get pulled over. I would like to discuss that separately. >> Okay. Okay. >> Any other resolutions that anyone would like me to pull?
Okay. So now I'm going to open the meeting for public comment on the consent agenda res resolution. Uh members of the public are requested to state their name and add their name before speaking and um reminded to speak
on the consent agenda resolutions only. >> Hi Diane Jansen 589 Richland Terrace. Can you please explain uh I I was out of the room. I apologize for being out of the room, but I had to ask questions and
you know, we really should have had a separate meeting for this, but that's besides the point. Um, can you please explain 239 if you haven't already? And if you have, I apologize that there wasn't a separate
meeting for the public to be able to ask questions of the present presenters. That's it. >> Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. I'm now going to close the public
comment section on the consent agenda. Um, Mr. Hoffman, do you want to um explain resolution 239? >> Yes, council president. Thank you. U
resolution 239 is to accept the grant award that the environmental commission received from Anjack. So before it can be put before it can be accepted, it has to be uh taken into the budget as an item of revenue. Then it has to be uh
have an appropriation section. And um by by passing this resolution, the the council will be allowing the environmental commission to accept and use the $1,500 ANJ res uh ANJ grant this
this calendar year in 2025. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. Um can I have a motion to introduce resolutions 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, and 246? So moved.
>> Second. >> Any discussion from the governing body on those resolutions? >> Yansancy, can I have a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman David, >> yes. >> Councilman Rosenwide, >> yes. >> Councilman Tayer, >> yes.
>> Councilman Wilson, >> yes. >> Council President Waski, >> yes. Now, can I have a motion to introduce resolution 245 supporting the drive sober or get pulled over statewide Labor Day crackdown? August 15th through Okay, >> President.
>> Thank you. Can I have a second? >> I second. >> Okay. Any discussion from the governing body resolution supporting the drive sober or get pulled over statewide Labor Day crackdown from August 15th through September 1st? >> Yes. Um what is the proced?
What is the procedure with um drives over get pulled over and what do they do um for this? some it was several accidents that happened over the weekend. Um and I would like to know what's the procedure for you know breathalyzers or whatever. I'm just
asking that question. Um you know what is what do they do? Do they pull you over and um give you a breathalyzer or do they watch how you drive or do you run through a light or anything? I'm just asking. >> Okay. Thank you. Mr. Hoffman, do you want to answer that?
>> I'm not sure I can answer the whole thing. So, I I'll answer part of it. The um th this resolution is just is it's part of a public awareness campaign so that um people people know that over the
holiday weekend or the at at and at the end of this the summer that um you need to you need to be careful what you consume. and also um that the the state has made grant funding available to all to the state police, to county police,
and to local police to help ensure um the safety of uh drivers, pedestrians, and those that are in cars. And so there's been there's uh there's designated times where the police have extra patrols and they're um
they're looking to ensure the safety of all all who are in vehicles and those that are that are on the sidewalks. So that's part of it. >> Oh, okay. So it's a warning and they pull them over and just let them go. Okay. Thank you. >> I'm not sure. No, no. I'm I'm not sure how that now No, it's
>> asking. And it's als it's also this is a support there there is the grant. So it's um you know it's it's supporting the the continuation of receiving grant funding for um you know for police departments at the local level to to continue this operation.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. Any other discussion on this resolution? >> Yansancy. Can I have a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman David. >> Yes. >> Councilman Rosen. Yes. >> Councilman Toker. >> Yes.
>> Councilman Wilson. >> Yes. >> Council President Wasatski. >> Yes. >> Okay. Now we have an ordinance for discussion. An ordinance to release, vacate, and extinguish any and all public rights in and to a portion of Nord of Place. U Mr. Bailey, do you want
to uh discuss this, please? >> Uh yes. Uh, Madame Chairman, uh, this ordinance is in furtherance of the prior approval by the city council to transfer and sell a portion of Nordolf Place to the adjoining property owner. Um, I
think it's 333 Southbend Brunch Street. To accomplish that, this isn't a separate lot in and of itself. It's a piece of a roadway that's unimproved. So by under the local land and buildings law you have to actually vacate that portion which is in the legal descript description that France prepared for us
and uh this is in furtherance of that transaction. Um if it's introduced they will then deposit the monies before there's an adoption in two weeks or well we introduce in two weeks and then adopt you know early October what have you and
then this uh lets us close the transaction. >> Okay thank you. Any questions or discussion from the governing body? Okay. Now we have resolution 247 approve payment of bills and claims.
Where is the chief financial officer certified and submitted a consolidated bill and claims list for payment as well as a consolidated list of prepaid items. The prepaid items include emergency payments, wire transfers, and regularly scheduled monthly payments that are paid between bills and claims list dates.
hand. Whereas all bills and claims listed here have been encumbered and sufficient funds are available for payment. And we're asked the required signatures have all been obtained on each voucher on the attached list. Now therefore be it resolved by the council of the city of Anglewood that the bills and claims on the submitted list are
hereby approved for payment in the total amount of 1.85,856 85,856 well 1,85,856.13. Can I have a motion, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Um, any discussion from the governing body?
Can I have a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman David, >> yes. >> Councilman Rosen, >> yes. Councilman Toker. >> Yes. >> Councilman Wilson. >> Yes. >> Council President Waski. >> Yes. >> Okay. And uh before we go into public
session, I just um want I want to I want to um pause and acknowledge that this week marks three years since the death of Bernard Placid. We recognize the immense pain and loss felt by his family, his loved ones, and our entire community.
Since that time, Anglewood has taken meaningful steps. We were among the first towns to join the arrive together program, pairing pairing experienced mental health professionals with police officers in certain calls and follow-ups. In addition, 80% of our
police officers have now completed crisis intervention training. These efforts show progress, but we know there is still more work ahead. At this time, I will turn it over to Mr. Bailey to provide further updates. >> Um,
in terms of the state attorney general's office, they are still doing their investigation. As you may recall, they came and have all of the city's files. We actually don't even have them. Um, so in terms of there's nothing on our end
to report. Uh we're waiting for the attorney general's office to issue their findings and return our documents, frankly. Um and then there is pending litigation, but all that has stayed for that reason. >> Thank you. I'm now going to open the
meeting to the public. Speakers are asked to step up to the microphone and give their name and have three minutes to speak. >> Amy Bulacalland Avenue. Um, first I want to thank Councilman Wilson and Councilman Rosenwig for the questions during the presentation. They were
excellent questions. Um, hit right on point with those. Um, I'd also like an update on when we're going to get the information about Liberty School and what Ken Albert has put together. And lastly, I want to say that there was a lot of
discussion around properties having permits, not having permits. And I probably will not be a favorite of people in the community. But permits are essential. And if people don't get them, it is a problem. Why is it a problem? It
creates safety hazards. If you have electrical work done and it hasn't been properly inspected and your house catches fire, guess what your insurance company is going to say? We're not covering it. So, while I understand
people have concerns about work, they may have done a lot of it probably during COVID and didn't get the proper permits and things like that. They need to do what they need to do to get things corrected because it creates an issue not just for them but the people who
live around them. I know people who have oil tanks in their basement and had a spill and didn't want to call the city. Oh, I'll take care of it. I'll fix it. You could blow up the whole block. Like what are we doing here? So, I think that the city is doing its due diligence in
trying to address these issues, particularly knowing that we have rooming houses, illegal rooming houses. If our firefighters have to go in, they don't know what they're going into. People have plumbing issues that could back up into other people's homes. So, I if they want to report people, I really
don't have a problem with that. and I had renovations done and I had the permits and the pleasure of city of Inglewood inspectors in and out of my house for six months because I wanted to do things the right way. So I support and encourage the city to deal with that in whatever way they deem appropriate.
Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Did I turn it? Oh, it's done. Diane Jansen, 589 Richland Terrace. I would like to second what Miss Bullock said because we know that there are a lot of
homes in my neighborhood that are not uh probably have not been inspected that might be multifamily or rooming houselike and we would like to have that taken care of in the second ward also.
So thank you. Um my comments deal with the reassessments. The first question is why were Anglewood residents not informed about the reassessments in advance and the sample
reassessment letter was not on the Anglewood website either before reassessment letters went out to residents beginning Friday, August 8th, 2025. And here tonight we knew about the
reassessments for two years. Shame. Two. Why did city council president Wasatsky, who controls city council agendas, not include the news about the Anglewood reassessments, which was known for some time, i.e. two years
at the August 5th, 2025 city council meeting. Three, why was additional reassessment information such as this meeting regarding timing, etc. not shared citywide on the Anglewood website
and only shared with some by Wasatsky and Rosenwag via contact constant contact email initially. This is very poor communication and lack of transparency on the city's part
and on the council's part and you should not be doing this. It needs to stop along with the subcommittees that are making decisions in behind the scenes. And now we have
overlay zones that were done basically behind the scenes and done so late that everything had to be approved by the planning board and the city council because there wasn't enough time then to make changes from the public and submit
them to the state. I can go on with example after example, but I'll save that for the year in review, but this has not been a good year. Topheavy management
spending more money and then hitting us that we're going to have assessments. You've got to be kidding. How stupid do you think we are? Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Horus Ragbear, 51 West Hamilton Avenue,
Englewood, New Jersey. I just have a couple things that I wanted to ask like I would have liked to ask it while they were sitting here. I think uh President uh was asked he said that the public would have been able to ask them questions and based on timing I said it
was oneonone questions does not help the general public. I saw on the letter it says inspection of interior property and then the word examine of interior property. There's two big difference between those words and don't expect an
answer. The second thing is as uh councilwoman Angela David said uh earlier about how properties are selling for more value now because it become a developer's dream to buy up Englewood.
All right. Um we spending more money and it's the comparison that they use is not a realistic comparison for Englewood. All right. I can't see it being the same. It could never be the same. And the third thing is my home was built in 1934.
That means my home the outside interior the exterior looks pretty whatever it is but the framework of that home has um moved over the years. The frame the foundation has moved over the years. Are they going to take these into
consideration when they giving you a true assessment? A true assessment should be done based on the year, what type of material it was made of, um, how old the house, the home is, and if the foundation shifted. One of my flaws are
completely slanted, and you can't do anything about it. But all of these things is going to give you a true assessment of value of property. The age, what type of has it shifted over the years? Is there other issues? Even the electrical there behind the walls
have electrical, behind the walls have plumbing. We don't know what that is. All right. But all of these things need to be taken into consideration to give a true assessment. And the last thing that I I agree with because I have talked to one or two real estate agents. Houses
have been se selling for more value. By time you put a house a home on the on the market, you put it for 400, somebody offers 450. There's not going to be a true comparison at this point in time. Thank you. Thank you.
Right. I'm now going to close the public session and so I'm just um I'm going to make one comment and that is communication and transparency is very important to me and
um I send out along with Councilman Rosen Swag regular updates. So, if you are not getting our regular updates and you would like to be on our email list, please our contact information is on the city website and you can also speak to
us after the meeting. Um, Mr. Hoffman, uh, could you answer there I think there really two points. So, m Mr. Ragbear had some assessment questions and I think that that he went outside I think to
talk to the to to the um assessor but we have uh Miss Bulock asked about communication about a community center and um and then there were um Miss Jansen asked you
about the reassessment process. Uh, sure. Thank you, Council President. So, the first question uh from Miss Bulock, and by the way, thank you for the comment about the per about the permits and and safety. Um, we appreciate it and I'm sure our inspectors appreciate it. It had to do
with an update on the Liberty School and I know that that was discussed uh in close session tonight with the council and that there's going to be um some kind of communications coming up. There will be some kind of a public presentation in the fall about that. So,
um please stay tuned for for that. The uh Miss Johnson asked questions about the um the reassessment information and um all of the reassessment information that uh was here tonight has been on our website. Uh the letters uh they've been
on the website for a few weeks. The um letters that went out, every property owner in the city received a letter from ASI. So, they were sent out by the postal. They were sent out by uh the the carrier, you know, the carrier roots,
but every every property owner did receive one. Um they received the brochure. They're on they're on the website. Uh the only thing that's not on the website from the reassessment presentation is the our our assessor Patrick Wilkins presentation from
tonight and that'll be put on tomorrow. the um the the comments about the time the timeline the city was ordered by the by the board of taxation to do this. Um Patrick, as you heard tonight, there's a
meeting there's a meeting tomorrow morning where the board of taxation is going to go through and review the 47 towns that have been ordered to do the reval. uh this is something that's um that has has come up and we we're waiting for direction from the board of
taxation but the governing body here took action I guess it was in May they rejected the last RFP that we did for the for the assessment and at that same meeting they they approved the uh they approved a resolution so that we could
do the re we could move to the assessment so they rejected the the reval and they moved to the assessment. So, um, you know, the process really started in at the end of May. So I'm I'm not sure where where the
>> I mean the other the other point is that ASI just like when we contract with PSNG or other other um or viola you I'm not we contract when PS&G does work or Viola does work or we hire somebody to do
milling and paving you know they do not contact the council to let us know their time frame what they're doing. So we didn't even know those letters were going out. They did not contact the council, nor should they have contacted the council. Um, and let it, you know,
that that discussion goes on with city management, but it doesn't go on with the council. And Bill, Mr. Bailey, why don't you explain that for the public why they why the why this is not a political process and why the council is
kept out of that process because I think it's important that the public understand that. >> So, early on in Mr. Wilkins presentation, he mentioned the year 1875. The magic of that year is that our New Jersey state constitution was amended to mandate that property
assessments need to reflect the true value of property. And way before my time, I think that was in response to the 14th and 15th amendments of the US Constitution. To implement that, the state legislature then passed
what's called title 54, which uh directs that the board of taxation and the director of the state director of the board of taxation uh has the authority to order and implement revaluations and
reassessments um and having nothing to do with governing bodies. if elected officials want to voluntarily do one like the city did in 2011 which was a wise decision because it it stopped the hemorrhaging um and got the values because everything
had been sinking because of the financial crisis at that time. Um that is why it's in the hands of the director of the board of taxation. In furtherance of that, uh, the state legislature passed Title 18 of the New Jersey
Administrative Code, which specifically gives the director the power and authority to order it. It's not a decision, and don't take this the wrong way, but the statutory scheme was in part put in place as an old case that to create uh
to uh eliminate mischief. Um, meaning uh elected officials don't get to set the assessments. You don't get to vote on it. You don't get to weigh in on it. It's a statutory position and the statutory obligation was specifically directed to tax assessors and the board
of taxation. There's very few statutoily mandated positions. One is tax assessor clerk is is one of them. Certified financial officer and that's to give insulation from any political influences or otherwise to let them perform their
duties. though this body nor any other body in the state of New Jersey gets to decide what the assessments are and if you don't do it you got a big problem because the director can then cause big problems.
>> Thank you. Can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor?