LAKE COMO — As the borough council continues to look into options regarding its inclusion in Monmouth County Tax Board Assessment Demonstration Program (ADP), the borough is currently in a “wait and see position,” Mayor Kevin Higgins said at the Oct. 15 council meeting.
“It is clear that the only way to challenge the county ADP program is through some type of legal action,” he said. “Currently, there is one town in litigation with the county and we believe that there will be others in the near future.”
Mayor Higgins provided the update Tuesday night at the request of the borough council from its recent executive sessions, as the program has become a topic of controversy in the community over past months.
“We know that the towns who are not in the program have been ordered back into the program by the county tax board,” the mayor said. “The outcome of those orders and the current litigation will further inform this council on the route they are going to take.”
“At this time, the council can take no action until we see the outcome of that litigation,” he continued. “If there is a situation where other litigation forms and we have the ability to join that litigation, it will be up to the council to decide whether we are going to do so or not.”
After concerns with the program were first raised by residents last month, the borough council had invited county tax representatives to the workshop discussion of the Sept. 3 council meeting to further elaborate on the borough’s involvement with the ADP amid the reported anomaly of the significant property reassessment hikes on North Boulevard of up to 60%.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Lake Como stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Coast Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.