North Wildwood Property Owners

N. Wildwood hopes to ease burden on property owners
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Published: Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 2006

NORTH WILDWOOD — City leaders are hoping to give local property owners a reprieve.

The deadline to file a tax appeal with the Cape May County Board of Taxation is April 1, but homeowners are encouraged to meet with local Tax Assessor Joseph Gallagher first before taking their disputes to the county level.

The problem, Councilman Joseph Duncan said, is there are too many unhappy owners and too little time to meet with the local tax assessor before April 1.

“It's an expensive proposition to go to the county. We want people to have time before they have to take that step,” he said.

The concern about the tax appeal deadline was among the many issues addressed Monday at a meeting of North Wildwood property owners who first met in January.

“We had another 300 people,” organizer Marge Schernecke said.

She said many owners received second notices on their property assesements and most were still dissatisfied with their property assessments.

The group, named the Wildwoods Taxpayers Association, plans to bring a couple of bus loads of people to next week's City Council meeting to voice concerns about the appeal process.

Duncan and Councilman Robert Maschio both attended the meeting in Philadelphia.

Maschio said he told the audience the city is completing its 2006 budget and the tax rate will likely be 70 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, down from last year's total tax rate of $2.56. Maschio noted that the figure could change before the final budget is adopted.

He added the city is talking with the county, Tyler Technologies/CLT Division, the revaluation company, and local officials to resolve the issue of the new assessments and pending appeals.

Meanwhile, Schernecke said news that the Joint Construction Office of the Wildwoods, or JCOW, sent violation notices to at least 500 condominium units because they were improperly inspected was also on the meeting's agenda.

On Tuesday, JCOW attorney Glenn P. Callahan issued a formal statement about those notices. Callahan said JCOW will suspend any fines which would otherwise accompany the violations, and it has eliminated any time requirements for filing an appeal. JCOW is also submitting an amended lawsuit that will be more detailed.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:

TGilfillian@pressofac.com