The average homeowner in Loch Arbour Village paid $19,904
A file photo of a home in Loch Arbour, where the average homeowner paid $19,904 in property taxes last year.TRENTON — The average New Jersey taxpayer shelled out $7,576 in property taxes in 2010, a 4.1 percent jump over 2009 and the largest year-over-year increase since 2007, according to figures released today by the state Department of Community Affairs.
The numbers fueled an already-contentious debate over New Jersey’s property taxes, which are the nation’s highest. The increase came in Gov. Chris Christie’s first year in office, but this year, local governments will have to deal with a new 2 percent property tax cap signed by the governor last summer.
“At least now we can stop the ridiculous myth that Christie didn’t raise taxes,” said Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan (D-Union). “It’s now a proven fact that Christie gave New Jerseyans their highest property tax increases since 2007.”
But Michael Drewniak, spokesman for Christie, blamed Democrats and repeated the adminstration’s call to pass “tool kit” bills aimed at stemming costs for local governments.
Drewniak said property taxes “soared” while Democrats controlled Trenton. Property taxes rose 56.2 percent during the eight years of Democratic governors prior to Christie, the figures show.
“And let’s remember, our budget cap did not go into effect until January of this year and the Legislature, still under Democratic control, has acted on only five of the 20 took kit bills,” Drewniak said.
Tiny Tavistock Borough in Camden County topped this year’s list with an average bill of $20,565, up from third last year. It’s followed by Loch Arbour Village in Monmouth County, $19,904; Millburn Township in Essex, $19,441; Mountain Lakes in Morris County, $18,158; and Alpine Borough in Bergen, $17,622.
Out of 21 counties, residents in Bergen paid the highest property taxes. It was the only county with average residential property taxes topping $10,000. Morris and Essex counties were second and third highest.
The cheapest place to live in New Jersey is Walpack Township in Sussex County, where taxpayers paid an average of $401.
Audubon Park, Woodbine, Lower Alloways Creek and Camden round out the bottom five.
The average bill in New Jersey rose by $295 last year to $7,576, a 4.1 percent jump over 2009. The number hasn’t increased more than 4 percent since 2007, when the average bill spiked 5.4 percent
Administration officials touted a 0.4 percent decrease in total spending of municipalities, counties and school districts as proof Christie’s policies have started to take hold.
“We are slowly, but capably laying a foundation for an affordable and prosperous New Jersey,” Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa said in a statement.
Municipal and county spending both rose about 2 percent, but total school district spending dropped, resulting in the first total decrease in spending in recent memory, administration officials said.
Bill Dressel, executive director of the state League of Municipalities, said the decrease in spending is a testament to the work local officials did, even in light of cuts to state aid and an uptick in property tax appeals.
“They worked very hard to protect the property taxpayers given the fact that they have gotten very little assistance from Trenton to deal with these issues,” Dressel said.