Property tax drop: A few New Jersey towns share strategies

Garden State municipalities saw their average property tax bills increase by an average of 2.2 percent in 2014, but some actually managed to deliver a drop in property taxes to their residents, which is not an easy task in a tax-heavy state like New Jersey.

According to the Christie administration, more than 85 towns, school boards and other local entities experienced a drop in taxes from 2013 to 2014.

In Jersey City, the average bill fell from $6,851 to $6,799, according to the latest numbers from the Department of Community Affairs.

Mayor Steven Fulop said the positive step is the result of both cost-cutting and a spike in ratable property.

"We've taken aspects of the police and fire and consolidated them together, knowing that on the technology side, on the back office side of different departments, there's a lot of overlap, and that saved a significant amount of money," Fulop said.

Nearly $1 million alone was saved from the elimination of the Jersey City Parking Authority, which Fulop referred to as an agency "filled with patronage and corruption historically."

Meanwhile, more consolidation and more ratables could produce another round of decreased taxes in the year or two ahead.

"We'll be looking this year, hopefully, at another positive year from a budget standpoint, which will be a positive impact to residents in the wallet," Fulop said.

Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato said his borough took on a new approach to the budget process years ago, working closely with each department head, and now the hard work is starting to pay off. The average property tax bill dropped by more than $200 from year to year.

"We looked at the budgets and we were able to ascertain which items could be reduced without affecting the quality of service and what the residents have been expecting from us," Buccellato said.

Department heads gathered again in early February to start the next budget process.

Mayor Bob Fazen of Bound Brook said he couldn't point to one specific change that led to a drop in property taxes for 2014, but the town did go "across the board, line by line" in the budget to cut costs as much as possible.

"Our goal is always to keep them steady or reduce property taxes for the residents," Fazen said. "Even if you don't go up, if you just stay the same, it's still remarkable."

Property tax growth was held below 2 percent for the majority of New Jersey families in 2014, the Christie Administration said. Some municipalities, those hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy, saw significant spikes.