Politics & Government
Scotch Plains and Fanwood Property Taxes Higher Than State Average, Among Highest in County
Scotch Plains also saw a higher percentage tax increase for 2012 than the state average, while Fanwood was under the average.
Homeowners in Scotch Plains and Fanwood are paying higher property taxes than the statewide average and some of the highest in the county, according to a statewide chart published by the Star-Ledger.
The average total Scotch Plains tax bill comes in at $$11,520.19, compared with the statewide average of $7,870.28, ranking it the 69 highest out of 566 municipalities, or in the top 12 percent.
The average total Fanwood bill comes in slightly lower than Scotch Plains' at $10,436.55. Fanwood ranks 90 highest out of 566 municipalities, or in the top 15.9 percent.
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While the statewide average property tax increase was 1.7 percent for 2012, the smallest bump in more than two decades, Scotch Plains residents saw a 2.4 percent tax increase for 2012, while Fanwood residents saw a increase under the state average at 1.2 percent. Across Union County, the average percent increase for 2012 was 2.1 percent. Mountainside had the highest percentage increase for 2012 (5.6 percent), while Winfield had the biggest decrease for 2012 (-0.8 percent).
Compared to the rest of Union County, both Scotch Plains and Fanwood had one of the highest overall taxbills in the county. Scotch Plains ranked 4 out of 21 for total highest tax bill in the county, while Fanwood ranked 6 of 21. Scotch Plains pays the third lowest municipal bill in the county, but the third higest school bill. Fanwood pays a slightly lower municipal bill than the county average, and also one of the highest school bills in the county.
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Residents in Summit (1), Westfield (2) and New Providence (3) paid the highest average total tax bill in the county, while residents in Winfield (21), Kenilworth (20) and Plainfield (19) paid the lowest.
The Star-Ledger noted that property taxes statewide rose 2.4 percent in 2011, the first year Christie’s two percent cap was in effect. But the trend of lower increases could be reversed because of Hurricane Sandy, according to the report.
In Manasquan, which suffered some of the worst damage from Sandy, local officials said the cost of rebuilding might drive up tax rates by at least 20 percent, the report said. To top it off, the tax base shrank as properties were washed away, according to the report. Towns are allowed to exceed the two percent limit on property tax collections for emergencies such as Sandy.
TownAverage County BillAverage Municipal BillAverage School BillAverage Total BillRank of Total Bill in StatePercent Change from 2011 Clark$1,942.70$2,474.34$4,792.82$9,209.86150 highest of 5663.5% Garwood$1,710.53$3,077.43$3,961.33$8,749.30171 highest of 5664.3% County Average$1,828.06$2,954.38$4,732.66$9,515.09–2.1% Statewide Average
$1,425.45$2,324.66$4,120.16$7,870.28–1.7%
UNION COUNTY
Average County Bill
Average Municipal Bill
Average School Bill
Average Total Bill
Rank of Total Bill in CountyPercent Change from 2011
Berkeley Heights
$2,580.35
$2,050.60
$6,474.40
$11,105.36
0.7%
Clark
$1,942.70 $2,474.34 $4,792.82 $9,209.86 103.5%
Cranford
$2,060.72 $2,472.99 $5,369.98 $9,903.70 9 3.6% Elizabeth $1,231.09 $4,743.14 $1,871.93 $7,846.16 17 -0.5% Fanwood $1,937.83 $2,218.57 $6,280.15 $10,436.55 6 1.2% Garwood $1,710.53 $3,077.43 $3,961.33 $8,749.30 12 4.3% Hillside $1,167.12 $3,989.62 $3,513.51 $8,670.25 13 1.8% Kenilworth $1,520.31 $2,269.26 $3,548.28 $7,337.85 20 4.4% Linden $1,284.72 $2,621.57 $3,967.24 $7,873.53 15 1.7% Mountainside $2,677.69 $2,768.10 $4,743.20 $10,188.99 7 5.6% New Providence $2,560.99 $2,684.54 $7,066.03 $12,311.56 3 2.5% Plainfield $1,141.75 $4,579.09 $2,094.72 $7,815.57 19 -0.4% Rahway $1,303.43 $3,057.40 $3,465.96 $7,826.79 18 1.1% Roselle $1,042.55 $4,416.74 $3,597.64 $9,056.93 11 -0.6% Roselle Park $1,303.45 $2,815.30 $4,486.97 $8,605.73 14 1.5% Scotch Plains $2,248.72 $1,966.49 $7,304.99 $11,520.19 4 2.4% Springfield $1,876.85 $3,220.94 $4,910.17 $10,007.95 8 2.5% Summit $4,132.33 $3,643.99 $8,274.22 $16,050.53 1 3.4% Union $1,378.43 $2,878.21 $3,604.53 $7,861.16 16 3.3% Westfield $3,204.80 $2,657.55 $8,466.72 $14,329.07 2 3.1% Winfield $82.83 $1,436.10 $1,591.03 $3,109.97 21 -0.8% COUNTY AVERAGE $1,828.06 $2,954.38 $4,732.66 $9,515.09 – 2.1%The data above, which divides property tax bills by municipal, county and public education costs, was compiled from numbers released by the state Department of Treasury and county boards of taxation.
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