NJ Education Report

Today’s Press of Atlantic City looks at the effect on local property taxes after damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, projecting that “local property taxes in one of the most heavily taxed states in the nation are all but guaranteed to rise.” This is due, in part, to the reality that much of the damage was inflicted on “the most valuable properties along the shore,” which pay the biggest tax bills that, in turn, support both municipalities and school districts.

People in these already hard-hit towns will see their taxes rise when the municipal tax burden is supported by fewer homes. And people in towns far from the shore will have to pay more, because there will be fewer taxpayers to foot the bill for county governments and regional school districts. 

“To the extent that anybody’s assessment is being reduced, everybody else’s taxes have to go up,” said Keith Szendrey, assistant to Atlantic County Tax Administrator Marge Schott.

For more analysis on post-Sandy impact on school districts, see my last two pieces at WHYY’s Newsworks here and here.