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The Truth About Lodi Home ValuesSince the Revaluation of 2004

M ed ian S a le s P r ic eL o d i IN J I ,8 ,1 1 r o p e r t i e s I ,8 ,1 1e ar s t r u h a$600K

:;:~$ 3 0 0 K . -~. - - : ;$166f

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Record Number of SuccessfulCommercial Tax Appeals A record number of commercial properties

have successfully appealed their assessments,transferring HUNDREDS O F THOUSANDS ofthe tax burden away from commercialproperties and onto residential.

50% tax reduction

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"In House" Reductions Lodi tax assessor, George Reggo, has reduced a large number ofresidential home assessments "in house" without an appeal takingplace, a sale taking place, or a physical change to the properties. A clear pattern of favoritism exists with most of these properties

belonging to "family and friends" of Lodi politicians or townemployees. Many "family and friends" are now under assessedaccording to real estate websites. George Reggo refused twice to produce this list in response to twoOPRA requests. Marcel Wurms, Lodi tax counsel, challenges the tax appeals of non-political Lodi residents. His mother's assessment was reduced$34,000 for 2013. At the July council meeting, nobody in thisadministration knew how it happened.

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Bergen County Reassessments Over the last few years, the overwhelming majority of BergenCounty towns have called for new town wide reassessments in

response to a growing number of tax appeals and the costsassociated with them.

The clear result was a shift away from the residential tax burden andonto commercial. The clear majority of these towns actually saw a reduction in theirMEDIAN RESIDENTIAL TAX BILL. Some ofLodi's neighbors

In 2012, Maywood saw a decrease of -4.1% and Hasbrouck Heights saw a decreaseof -3.6%. (Source: Record newspaper)In 2011, Hackensack saw a decrease of -8.1% and Garfield saw a decrease of-0.4%. (Source: Record newspaper)

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Denial, False Claims, Manipulation,and Inaction

At the July regular council meeting, this administration claimed there is noreason for a new town wide reassessment because residential values are95% of what they were at the end of2004.

They manipulated the numbers by omitting a very large number ofproperties from consideration and by allowing their "in house" finagling toinfluence the ratio.

A 95% valuation would correlate to low number of successful tax appeals.The contrary is true in Lodi. A 95% valuation would correlate to a consistent median sale price trend

when comparing late 2004 to current 2013. The contrary is true in Lodi.

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August 2004 vs. August 2013 At the time the revaluation went into effect,the median residential sale price for Lodi was alittle under $400,000.

Today, the median residential sale price isaround $260,000.

The below chart is highlighted by hand.

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$ O K ~~- - - - ~- - ~~- - ~- - ~~- - ~~- - ~~~~- - -2 ) 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 ~ 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 E 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3o A ll p r o pe rtiE

$ 6 0 0 K$ 4 7 5 ~ \ .$ 4 0 0 K '

$ 3 0 0 K

$ 1 6 6 K V$ 1 0 0 K

M Q d i a n S a IQ P r i c QL o d iI . J I .8 . 1 1 ~J o p e r tie~ A l l ye c f s