[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Woodstown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-22-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
The definitions contained in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3 are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth at length. As used in this article, words shall have the meanings as so defined unless a different meaning is expressed.
The Borough hereby authorizes the utilization of tax exemption and abatement in accordance with Article VIII, Section I, Paragraph 6, of the New Jersey Constitution and establishes the eligibility of property located within areas designated by the Borough as those in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment for five-year tax exemptions and abatements as authorized by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq.
A. 
Construction of new commercial and industrial structures, conversion or improvements to the property shall be eligible for tax exemption or exemption and abatement commencing with completion of the project. Any such exemption or exemption and abatement shall be subject to the owner and Borough entering into a tax agreement as provided by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10.
B. 
The applicant shall furnish to the Borough an application setting forth the information required by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-9. The Borough Council shall thereafter adopt an ordinance authorizing a tax agreement for a particular project. No tax exemption or exemption and abatement shall be granted unless such tax agreement is approved by resolution of the Borough Council on an individual basis after review, evaluation and approval of such tax agreement for compliance with the terms of the ordinance and the underlying statute, rules and regulations.
C. 
The tax agreement shall provide for the applicant to pay to the Borough, in lieu of full property tax payments, an amount annually to be computed by one, but in no case a combination, of the three formulas set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10, namely the cost basis or tax phase-in basis.
D. 
Within 30 days after the execution of any such tax agreement, the Borough Clerk shall forward a copy of the agreement to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
E. 
In addition, every applicant shall file the application form prescribed by the Director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury with the Tax Assessor, as a condition of approval, within 30 days, including Saturdays and Sundays, following the completion of the improvement. Every application for exemption or exemption and abatement so filed shall be approved and allowed by the Assessor to the degree that the application is consistent with the provisions of this article, provided that the improvement for which the application is made qualifies as such pursuant to the provisions of this article and the specific tax agreement. The granting of an exemption or exemption and abatement and tax agreement, if appropriate, shall be recorded and made a permanent part of the official tax records of the taxing district, which record shall contain a notice of termination date thereof.
An additional improvement or construction, completed on a property granted a previous exemption or abatement during the period in which such previous exemption or abatement is in effect, shall be qualified for an exemption and/or abatement just as if such property had not received a previous exemption or abatement. In such case, the additional improvement or construction shall be considered as separate for the purposes of calculating exemptions and abatements, except that the assessed valuation of any previous improvement or construction shall be added to the assessed valuation as it was prior to that improvement or construction for the purpose of determining the assessed valuation of the property from which any additional abatement is to be subtracted.
Every application for exemption or abatement and every exemption and abatement granted shall be subject to all of the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq. and all rules and regulations issued thereunder.
All tax abatement and exemption agreements shall provide that the applicant is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
The percentage which the payment in lieu of taxes bears to the property taxes which would have been paid had an abatement not been granted for the property under the agreement shall be applied to the valuation of the property to determine the reduced valuation of the property to be included in the valuation of the Borough for determining equalization for county tax apportionment and school aid during the term of the tax abatement agreement covering the property.
If, during any tax year period to the determination of the tax abatement or exemption agreement, the applicant ceases to operate or disposes of the property or otherwise fails to meet the conditions of eligibility, the tax otherwise due if there had been no abatement or exemption shall become due and payable by the property owner. The Tax Assessor shall, within 15 days thereof, notify the owner of the property of the amount of taxes due. However, with respect to the sale or other disposal of the property, where it is determined that the new owner of the property will continue to use the property pursuant to the conditions which qualified the property, no tax shall be due, the exemption and the abatement shall continue, and the agreement shall remain in effect.
In the event of default by the applicant, including but not limited to the failure to make timely tax or in-lieu payments to the Borough, the Borough Tax Assessor shall notify the applicant, in writing, of said default. The applicant shall have 30 days to cure any default. Following the thirty-day cure period, the Borough shall have the right to proceed against the property pursuant to the in rem tax foreclosure action, N.J.S.A. 54:4-1 et seq., and/or may cancel the tax agreement upon 30 days' notice to the applicant.
At the termination of a tax abatement or exemption agreement, a project shall be subject to all applicable real property taxes as provided by state law and local ordinance.
The Borough Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to forward a certified copy of this article to the State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
No exemptions shall be granted for any property for which taxes or any other municipal charges are delinquent or remain unpaid or for which penalties for nonpayment are due for a period of at least one year, or for any property not being used in conformance with local, state or federal ordinance, regulation or statute. In addition, one- and two-family structures which contain home-based businesses are ineligible for the tax exemption or abatement programs described herein.
Appeal of any determination made by the Borough under the terms of this article shall be made to the Salem County Board of Taxation, unless a direct appeal to the New Jersey Tax Court is authorized by law.
[Adopted 7-26-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-9]
The Borough will allow for either a veteran or surviving spouse of a veteran to obtain municipal property tax relief upon proper claim pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-30 et seq. An "eligible veteran" shall be defined as a member of the armed forces who was either honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service, in time of war, in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, who has been or shall be declared by the United States Veterans' Administration or its successor to have a service-connected disability and to be determined to be 100% permanently disabled.
A. 
In order to qualify for the municipal tax exemption, the veteran or someone on his/her behalf, under oath, must file a written claim with the Tax Assessor's office. The Tax Assessor's office will supply the applicant with the appropriate paperwork, and the applicant will be required to provide the Tax Assessor's office with the following information:
(1) 
Reason for exemption;
(2) 
A description of the property for which the exemption is claimed;
(3) 
A certificate of the claimant's honorable discharge or release under honorable circumstances from active service, in time of war, and a certificate/letter from the United States Veterans' Administration or its successors, certifying to a service-connected disability;
(4) 
Any other documentation as required by statute at the time the application is made.
B. 
In order for a surviving spouse of a veteran to qualify for the municipal tax exemption, the spouse, under oath, must file a written claim with the Tax Assessor's office. The Tax Assessor's office will supply the surviving spouse with the appropriate paperwork, and the applicant will be required to provide the Tax Assessor's office with the following information:
(1) 
Proof to establish that the spouse is the owner of legal title to the premises on which the exemption is made;
(2) 
That the claimant occupies the dwelling house on said premises as the claimant's legal residence in the State of New Jersey;
(3) 
That the veteran has been declared by the United States Veterans' Administration, or its successor, to have a service-connected disability or that the veteran shall have been declared to have died in active service in time of war;
(4) 
That the veteran is or would have been entitled to the exemption at the time of death;
(5) 
The claimant is a resident of the State of New Jersey and has not remarried.
In determining a grant of a municipal tax exemption under this article, the Borough will prorate the exemption for the remainder of the year in which application is made and accepted by the Borough. Additionally, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.32, the Borough shall refund the veteran or surviving spouse all taxes previously paid for the year in which the application to the Borough is made only, retroactive to January 1 of said year. There shall be no further retroactive refund granted, regardless of the disability date determination of the United States Veterans' Administration.