Wall's Tax Burden Among County's Highest

Wall Township’s residents are taxed at a higher rate than residents living in nearly every other municipality in Monmouth County, according to county Board of Taxation figures.

Wall Township’s 2010 general tax of 2.603 for each $100 of property value is the 8th largest of the county’s 53 municipalities, according to the county tax board. ()

And driving that rate is Wall’s school district taxes, which in 2010 were the third highest in the county, tax board figures show.

The general tax rate includes county, school, municipal and open space taxes. It does not include fire district or other special district taxes. Wall also has three fire districts, in which residents are taxed for fire protection.

On a home assessed at $312,700 -- the current township average – the 2010 tax bill, excluding fire district taxes, was about $8,139.58. In 2009, using the same average home value, that bill was about $7,698.67. That’s an increase of about $441, or roughly 5.73 percent.

Also, Wall Township in 2010 moved up one notch in the top 10 highest tax rates in Monmouth County. In 2009, the township ranked 9th in general tax rate, coming in with a rate of 2.462, according to the tax board. (

The City of Asbury Park had Monmouth County’s highest 2010 rate at 5.221 for each $100 of property value. Deal’s .0527 rate is the county’s lowest, according to the tax board.

Driving Wall’s tax numbers are the township’s school district taxes, which in 2010 were eclipsed only by Roosevelt and Millstone, according to the tax board.

Wall’s 2010 school tax rate was 1.506 for each $100 of property value. Roosevelt and Millstone’s rates for last year were 1.714 and 1.619, respectively. The school districts in Asbury Park and Union Beach round out the top five highest tax rates in the county at 1.501 and 1.416, respectively, according to the tax board.

, introduced earlier this month, the school tax rate would rise to 1.557. The district budget is not yet final, and comparable figures from other districts are not yet available.

Under the plan, . An earlier idea to under the current version of the budget.

The municipal portion of the tax 2010 tax bill ranked 19th in the county, with a rate of 0.632, according to the tax board.

Wall’s 2011 municipal budget is . It is not known if or how much the tax rate will increase.

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General Tax Rate 2010:

1. Asbury Park: 5.221
2. Allentown: 4.726
3. Keansburg: 3.150
4. Union Beach: 3.136
5. Highlands: 2.823
6. Roosevelt: 2.770
7. Shrewsbury Borough: 2.634
8. Wall Township: 2.603
9. Neptune city: 2.571
10. Matawan: 2.401

General Tax Rate 2009:           

1. Asbury Park: 4.931
2. Allentown: 4.540
3. Marlboro: 4.144
4. Colts Neck: 3.212
5. Union Beach: 3.158
6. Highlands: 2.802
7. Millstone: 2.575
8. Shrewsbury Borough: 2.554
9. Wall Township: 2.462
10. Neptune City: 2.421

School Tax Rate 2010:

1. Roosevelt: 1.714
2. Millstone: 1.619
3. Wall Township: 1.506
4. Asbury Park: 1.501
5. Union Beach: 1.416

Municipal Tax Rate 2010:

1. Asbury Park: 2.902
2. Allentown: 1.191
3. Keansburg: 1.854
4. Highlands: 1.068
5. Shrewsbury Township: 1.019
6. Neptune City: 0.955
7. Interlaken: 0.938
8. Long Branch: 0.796
9. Freehold Borough: 0.791
10. Neptune Township: 0.786
11. Shrewsbury Borough: 0.776
12. Roosevelt: 0.748
13. Keyport: 0.733
14. Sea Bright: 0.706
15. Belmar: 0.703
16. Matawan: 0.673
17. Eatontown: 0.655
18. Atlantic Highlands: 0.647
19. Wall Township: 0.632
20. Lake Como: 0.606