Franklin Lakes November 23, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Special property tax assessments draw objections by Frank J. McMahon Two owners of the seven properties with frontage on Ryerson Road in Franklin Lakes have questioned the amount of the proposed special property tax assessments on their land. The special assessments are intended to cover the cost of a project to improve Ryerson Road that was initiated in 2005 when the borough was requested by the property owners who live on that road to assist them in designing and bidding the project. The property owners had been complaining for years about water running onto their driveways because of the poor drainage on that road. Bassam Mamary owns property at 756 Ryerson Road. At the council’s recent public hearing on the matter, he told the governing body that his $17,069 assessment was “a little high” and the five percent interest on the bond payment was too high. He said gravel is piling up in his driveway and he feels that deserves an adjustment of his special assessment. Carl Barbara owns the property at 242 Pulis Avenue at the corner of Ryerson Road, and his property has a proposed special assessment of $14,373. He told the governing body that his property has a circular driveway that is not a benefit because motorists use it as a shortcut and delivery trucks enter from Ryerson Road and exit onto Pulis Avenue, while other motorists use it as a turnaround, so it is not safe for his child to play there. Barbara also claimed that most of his 367 feet of frontage is unusable and his property is less than one acre. He offered to pay a one-time payment of $9,750 for the assessment. Michael Leposky, the borough’s tax assessor, told the governing body in a report about the special assessment project, however, that he has analyzed the cost of the project in relationship to each of the properties affected by the improvement. He informed the council that public hearings have been held on the assessments and various homeowners voiced their concerns regarding the project at those hearings. After an inspection of the properties and the neighborhood, Leposky listed in his report the proposed special assessment for each of the properties. Those assessments range from $5,062 for a lot with a 65 foot frontage on the road to $18,441 for a lot with 236 feet of frontage. According to Leposky, two of those lots were adjusted downward by 50 percent because the homes on those two properties front on Pulis Avenue. “Based on my opinion,” Leposky stated, “the increase in value realized for the properties as a result of the installation of the new road exceeds the proposed special assessment (and) the proposed assessment is deemed to be fair and equitable predicated upon the criteria for setting these types of assessments.” Councilman William Smith advised both property owners that the method used to determine their assessments is approved by Bergen County and it is an attempt to distribute the expense among the property owners. However, he acknowledged that the council could make adjustments based on the unique characteristics of a property. Smith suggested that Leposky review the information provided by the two property owners to see if he believes their assessments are fair to these two property owners, and the other property owners. That led to a discussion about the impact of any change of these two property assessments to the assessments of the other property owners and the need to re-notify all the property owners of the changes to those assessments. Smith said, however, that any reductions to the assessments could be assumed by the borough, so it may not be necessary to re-divide the revised total assessment among all the property owners involved. Ultimately, the council decided to carry the resolution to confirm the special assessments and the public hearing about them until the Dec. 20 council meeting to provide enough time to re-advertise the meeting and re-notify the property owners, if any changes are being made to the assessments. All the property owners will have an opportunity to address their special assessments at that meeting. The history of this project extends to 2005 when the council agreed to seek bids for the project, which included the installation of drainage pipe and the paving of Ryerson Road, which was a private dirt road located off Pulis Avenue just north of Bridle Way. The improvement was intended to solve the drainage problems the residents of that road had experienced and it was to be paid for by the contiguous property owners through a special assessment on each of those properties. (continued on page 19)