City Clerk File No. Res.

11-068
Agenda No. 10.J
Approved:
TITLE:
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AWARD OF A
CONTRCT TO REALTY APPRAISAL COMPAN TO
PROVID"E A COMPLETE REVALUATION OF ALL REAL
PROPERTY LOCATED IN THE CITY OF JERSE CITY

COUNCIL OFFERED AN MOVED ADOPTION OF THE

FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS, the Hudson County Board of Taxation ordered the City of Jersey
City (City) to implement a City-wide revaluation to be completed by September
30,2012 and be effective for the 2013 tax year and

WHEREAS, a City-wide revaluation wil spread the tax burden equitably

thoughout the City and will ensure that every property owner is paying his or her
fair share of propery taes; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to NJ.S.A. 40A:1l-4.1(k), the Director of the Division

of Local Goverent Services (Director) authorized the City to use competitive
contracting to award a contract to pedorm a City-wide revaluation; and

WHEREAS, pursuat to NJ.S.A 40A:1l-4.3(a), the èity Council approved

Resolution 10-286 on May 10, 2010 authorizing the use of competitive
contracting to award a contract to pedorm a City-wide revaluation; and

WHEREAS, the City adverised for bids pursuant to the Competitive

Contracting Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:II-4.1 ,e~. and received foiiproposals:

Realty Appraisal Company....$3,150,000

Tyler Technologies............ .$5,453,000
Appraisal Systems, Inc.. ... ....$6,496,300.
Certified Valuations, Inc.... ..$6,509,000; and

and .
WHEREAS, a committee appointed by the Business Administrator reviewed
the proposals and prepared the report attched hereto, recmmending that the
contract in the amount of $3,150,000 be awarded to Realty Appraisal Company;

WHEREAS, temporar fuds in the amount of $1,000,000 are available in

Account No. 1-201-30-419-314.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Municipal. Council of

the City of Jersey City that:

J) Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4.1 ,e ~., a contract to perfor a City-wide'

revaluation is awarded to Realty Appraisal Company;

2) The total contract amount shall not èxceed the sum of$3,150,000. The
revaluation wil begin upon the contract's approval by the Direction, Division of
Taxation'. and the revaluation should be completed by 12/31/12 for the filing of
the 2013 tax list on 1/13/13. Realty Appraisal Company wil defend appeals for
the 2013 tax year at the County Tax Board and State Tax Cour, until final
resolution - even if the matters aren't resolved until 2014.
 Continuation of Resolution 2
Pg.#
City Clerk File No. Res. 11':068

Agenda No, 10.J

TITLE:

3) Subject to such modification as deemed necessar or appropriate by

Corporation Counsel, the Mayor or Business Admnistrator is authorized
to execute an agreement prepared by the Purchasing Agent based on the
terms and conditions of the City's Request for Proposals document;

4) Notice of ths action shall be published in a newspaper of general

circulation withn the muncipality with ten days ofthis award; .
5) The. resolution authorizing the award of this contract and the contract itself
shall be available for public inspection;

6) This Agreement shall be subject to the condition that Realty Appraisal

Company provide satisfactory evideiice of compliance with the
Affrmative Action Amendments to the Law Against Discrimination,
N.J.S.A 10:5-31 ,e ~
7) Upon certification by an offcial or employee of the City authorized to
attest that the contractor has complied with specifications iii all respects,
and the requirements of the contract met, then payment to the contractor
shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Local Fiscal Affairs
Law,NJ.S.A 40A:5-1 ~
.8) The continuation of the contract after expenditue of funds encumbered in
2011 fiscal year temporary budget shall be contingent.upon.the availability
and appropriations of suffcient fuds in the 201 i fiscal year peranent
budget in the subsequent fiscal year budget.

I, (Donna Mauer), Chief Financial Officer, certify that

there are suffcient fuds ($3,150,000) available for the pàyment of the above
resolution in Account No. 01-201-30-419-314

PO NUMBER:

~LFORM
Corporation Counsel.

Certification Required o
Not Required

RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE. 219/11

COUNCILPERSON AYE NAY N.V. . :COUNCJLPERSON AYE t-AY N.V. . COUNCILPERSOto AYE NAY N,V.
.
SOTTOLANO GAUGHAN
VELAZQUEZ
DONNELLY FULOP FLOOD
LOPEZ RICHARDSON BRENNAN, PRES
,/ Indicates Vote N,V,-Not Voting (Abstain)

Adopted at a meeting of the Municipal Council of the City of Jersey cily 'N.J.

Peter M. Brennan: President of Council

Robert Byrne, City Clerk
 . .
CONTRACT FOR PROVIDING A
. COMPLETE REVALUATION OF
ALL REAL PROPERTY FOR
TAX EQUALIZATION PURPOSES

BETWEEN

CITY
CITY OF JERSEY

AMUNI~IPAL CORPORATION OF
THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

AND

REALTY APPRAISAL COMP ANY

ANEW JERSEY CORPORATION

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT, made this ~.day of by

and'between
The City of Jersey City, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New Jersey, hereinafter referred
to as the Municipality and/or City,

and

Realty Appraisal Company, an appraisal fitm with its principal office located at;

4912 Bergenline Avenue

West New York, NJ 07093,

hereinafter referred to .as the Firm.

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, the City of Jersey City is engaged in a project to revalue all the lands, buildings
and Improvements contained within the boundares òfthe City and desires to engage the services
of the Firm to render necessary advice and assistance in the said project;
and .

WHEREAS, . the Firm has offered to render such servces to the City.

NOW, THEREFORE, each of the paries hereto intending to bè legally bound hereby, it is
agreed as follows:

The City of Jersey City agrees to pay the sum of $3, 150,000, in full for consideration of the

1
services to be rendered herein.

. ARTICLEI
CONTitCTCONTINGENT UPON APPROVAL BY
THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF TAXATION

A. The Firm shallpedorm for the City all the required services in accordance with the
Request for Proposal '(RFP) prepared by the City and the proposal ("Proposal")
prepared by tae Firm and submitted to' the City on Decenber 21, 2010; This
Agreement, the RFP ,and the Proposal are intended to complement and supplement
each other. In the event thatthere is a conflct or discrepancy among the provisions of.
this Agreement, the RFP and the Proposal, the provisions of this Agreement shall
govern over theRFr and the Proposal, and the provisionsoftheRFP shall govern
over the Proposal.'. .

B. This contract is contingent upon approval of the Division'ofTaxation

the Director of

and shall not be effective until such approval is noted on the approval page provided
within this Agreement.

C.The Finn shall not assign or transfer this contract or any interest therein without
wrtteii permission from the City, the surety company; the Hudson County Board of
Taxation and the Director of the Division of Taxation.

D. No changes wil be permitted in this contract except upon mutual consent of the Firm
and the City of Jersey City, and written pennission of the surety company, the
Hudson County Board öfT~ationandthe Director of the Division of Taxation. '

II
. ARTICLE

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

provisions with respect to offcers, stockholders and employees ofthe Finr

shall include: ' ..
A. The following

1. No commissioner or employee ofthe HuqsonCounty Board of Taxation and no'

assessor within the County of Hudson shall have any interest whatsoever, directly or
indirectly, as an officer, stockholder, employee or any other capacity in, the Firm.

2. The Fini and its parent film and subsidiaries, if any, shall not represent any property
owner or taxpayer filing a tax appeal with respect to the revaluation. completed by the
Firm for a period of three years from the date.ofthe contract.

2
 '-.

ARTICLE III
APPRAlSAL FIRM: QUALIFICATIONS OF PRICIPALS AND EMPLOYEES

A.Thè principals of the Firm and the employees of the Firm directly engaged in City's
. revaluation programs shall meetthe following minimum reqllirements:

1. Principals shaJlhave five years of practical arid extensive appraisalexperience in the

valuátions of the four classifications of property;

2. . Supervisors shall have four years of practical and extensive"appraisal experience in the
appraisal of the paricular type of properties forwhich they àre responsible. Two years of

... . : '. .
this experience must have been in the mass appraisal field and occurred within the past
five years;

3.. 'Field personnel, buílding enumerators and lists shall have received 150 hours of in service
training pertaining totheir paricular phase of work and shall be generally awar~ of all
other phases of the revahiationproject before starting actualfi~ld work;

-. ., ..
. ., ( . Â. Personnel determining
final land values shall meet the qualifications prescribed for
supervisors in direct charge of the work.

5. The Firm shall submit a resume on behalf of principals and supervisors.

IV ARTICLE

CONDITIONS TO BE MET BY THE CITY

The City shall fuish. the Fihn'the following:

A.. TaX Maps

. An up-to~date tax map that has beenteviewed and determined suitable for revaluation use
by the Property Administration Local Property Branch

B. Official Records

1. A copy öf the State approved fieof cu~ent propery records for all properties
currently listed upon the tax records of the Municipality. This tape shall include the
block, lot, additional lots, owner's name and address, property location, property
classification.

3
 2 ,Official records e.g. SR1-A records,abstraets of deeds within the Assessor's office,
. and such other information required to assist the Fimi to determine the full fair value of .
the realty to be valued. Existing property record cards are deemed not to be official
records and canot be used by the Firm. The Finn has a responsibilty to field. inspect all
properties.

C. Letters of Introduction to facìltate the Fimi's access to properties for inspection and data
collection puroses.
..

D. The mailng addresses of all property owners in the Municipalityto enable the Firm to
maintain a current mailing list Informational letters mailed by the Fírm to property
owners usually require the signature of the Assessor.

ARTICLE V
STANDARDS FOR REVALAUTION

The Firm shall comply with the standards and conditions as herein set forth. The Firm acts as the
agent of the City Tax Assessor and all determinations made by the Firmshall be submitted to,
and be approved by, the City Tax Assessor.

A. Standard of Vahie

Real property should be valued in accordance with N.J.S.A. 54:4-1 et seq.. All propèrty real'
and personal shall be subject to taxation anually shall
under this chapter. . Such property

be valued and assessed at thetaxable value prescribed by law. Personal property taxable shall .

. ,,- .
include the machinery, apparatus or equipment ofa petroleum refinery that is directly used to
manufacture petroleum products from crude oilin-anyoftheseries ofpetroleuni refining
p.rocesses commencing with the introduction of crude oil and ending with refined petroleum
. . products, but shall exclude items of machiilery, apparatUs or equipment not directly used to
refine.crude oil into petroleum products and the tangible goods and chattels, exclusive of.
inventories, used in business of local exchaIge telephone, telegraph and messenger systems,
companies, corporations òr associations and shall not include any intangible personal property:

B. Property Under Construction

, .
The Firm ~hall determine the percentage of completion and the appraisal value of property
that is under construction' or alteration as of October 1, 2012, preceding the irtplementationof
the rev:aluation.

C. Tax Exerrpt Property

A separate list of exempt properties shall be provided indicating the values. of said property'-

"4
'as if taxable.

D. Thee Approaches to Value

1. The thre~ approaches to value, where applicable, shall be used in appraising all property.

2. The Firm shall çollectand analyze local sales that occurred during the previous thee
. years, in its application of the market data approach. The Firm shall prepare a sample
format that wil be used in the application of this approach to vàlue.

3. With respect to the income approach to vaiU:e, the Firm shall ptepare a written report outlining
the factors used to develop the income approach method to valuation. The Firm shall prepare and
request a statement"ofIncome and Expense pursuant to NJ.S.A 54:4-34 (Chapter.91) at its cost.
In conjunction to the inforination obtained.from this source, the Firm shall also analyze the local
market place to derive economic rates, rentals and expenses in order to anve at a supportable
indication of value. All supporting data relevant to the capitalization procedure shall be
Submitted with the property record cards.

4. The three approaches to value shall be reconciled and the final estimate of value shall be
clearly noted on the property record card.

E. Real Property Appraisal Manual

1. The most recent edition of the Real Property Appraisal Manual for New JerseyAssessors
shall. be used as a basis in the appÜcation of the cost approach to value' for residential
property.

2. The Marshall-Swift Valuation manual wil be utilzed for the cost approach of class 4
properties.

. 3. The use of any other appraisal manual as abasis for valuing real property shall require
approval by the Director of Taxation.

F. Property Record Cards

1. The Firm shall include real property identification material on properly labeled individual
property record cards similar in form and content to those ilustrated in the Real Property
Appraisal ManuaL.

2. Distinct property record cards for each of the four classifications of real property shall be
provided.

5
 G. Information on Property Record Cards

The real property identificâiion material to be entered on property record cards shall include,
but not necessarly be limited to, the following:

1 ~ A scaled sketch of the exterior building dimensions;

2. Notations of significant building components and measurements as ascertained from both

an interior and exterior inspection;

3. Entries on the property record cards respecting the values of each lot .and building
including such items as àge, constrction, condition, depreciation, obsolescence,
additions and deductions, appraised value, recent sales prices, rental data and all other
pertinent information pertaining to the valuation of the property.

4. Where more than one property record card is required in the description of a property, all
cards shall be assembled in a standard fie folder and properly labeled;

5. Each property record card shall identify the individual making the inspection and set
forththe date when the interor inspection was made; .

. 6. A digital color photograph shall be taken of the main improvements on ,each lot.

7. Each interior inspection shall be verified by the owner's or occupant's signature on the
property record card.

H. Inspection Procedure

The inspection of each propert shall be performed in the following maner:

1. No less than three attempts shall be made to gain entr to each property;

2. If successful entry has not been made after the first attempt, a card wil be left at the
property indicating a date when a second attempt to gain entry wil be made;

3. The card shall include a phone number and address to permitthe property owner to
contact the Firm to make other arangements, if necessary;

second visit, wrtten notice shall be left advising that an

4. If entr is not possible upon the

assessment wil be estimated unless a mutually convenient arangement is made for a

third visit to gain access to the property; .
5. The Firm shall schedule inspections durng reasonable hours which shall include
evenings and Satudays;

6. The Assessor shall be notified in writing of each failure to gain entry to a property and a

6
 list of all non-entres and reasons for same shall be provided to the Assessor prior to the
mailng of estimated value notices.

7. The Firm shall notify the Assessor of any properties discovered that are not ,on the current year
tax list. Notification of discovered propertes shall be in a timely maner topèrmirthe Assessor
adequate time to place an added and omitted assessment where applicable on the property.

8. The.Finn wil check each property record with the tax map for lot size. The Firm wil send the
Tax Assessor a'list of properties where the lot sizes differto determinè tIiecorrect lot size to be
valued.

i. Progress and Control of Operations

1. The Firm shallcoinipence work within 7 days after approval of the contract by the
Director of the Taxation and complete all ofthe contract tefms: This does not
Division of

include the mailing' of assessment notices, taxpayer reviews and appeal defense
requirements, by November 1, 2012.

2. The Firm shall perform the work in accordance with the plan submitted to the Assessor..
and schedule that is attached to and made par ofthis contract.

. 3. A written progress report sha:iibe submitted by the Firm to the Assessor at least once a
month. The progress reports shall indicate the currentstatusof,worktind compare the
. progress of work accomplished withthe plan and schedule established. The Firm shall
. provide written explanation to the Assessor where the progress of the work is not in
a~cordance with the contract schedule.

4. 'The Assessor shall forward the reports to the Hudson County Board of Taxation. Ifthe.County
B()atd of Taxation does not receive the requiredrnonthly progress report, the County Board of
. Taxation must notify in writing the Director of the Division ofTaxation immediately.

5. The progress report shall serve as a basis for proportional payIentsby the Municipality.
. . A payient schedule based on completion of the various facets of work shall be followed
in this regard. In no event shall the Firm. bil more than 90% of the total contract price
unti ~ii completion and performance of the contract, including the defense
of appeals.

6. Furthermore, if the character or progress of the work is not satisfactory to the Hudson County
.Board öfTaxatiön after two consecutive months, the HudsonCoufity Board of Taxation shall
also notify the Director of the Division of Taxation in writing of such lack of satisfactory
progress as soon as possible.

7. Any change in personnel shall besubmitted in writing to the Assessor and to the Hudson
County Board of Taxation.

7
 8. The Firm shallnot be responsible for delays causedby strikes, war, c'atastrophes or acts
of God which might stop or delay the progress of work.

J. Taxpayer Orientation and.Education

The Finn shall conduct and/or assist the Municipality in aprogram of taxpayer orientation
aid educatiori regarding the revaluatinn program. The program shall include, bl.t is not
necessarly limited to the following: .
1. Press releaseS describing the purpose and nature of the revaluation program;.

2. Meetings with public groups in the community;

3~ Mailings approved by the Assessor, at the Firm's expènse,t() all property owners
explaining thenatue and purpose of the revaluation and setting forth a proposed date for
the commencement of inspections in the municipality; '.

4. TheFirm shall provide.,photographic identification cards to its representatives.. Copies

wiU be provided to the Assessor, the MunicipaICle'rk,and the Police Department.

5. The employees of Municipality and the Firm shall work together to maintain the full
cooperation of all taxpayers by treating each inquiry with courtesy and supplying all
possible necessary information within statutory requirements and limits to every
interested taxpayer; however, each field appraiser/lister shall. be instructed to refrain from
discussing with the property owner, tenant, or occupant the possibilty of any increase or
décrease. in the valuation of the real properly and/or buildings, since.anyinformation is
preliminary, in natue at this point in tim~. This restriction wil be strictly adhered to and
any violation wil be just cause for the Assessor to ,request that the emplòyee be removed
from work on this project.

6. In .ari effort to promote transparency and provide information to the public, the Firm wil .
llpload sales data and. reports on a periodic basis on its web site. The report wil include; block,
lot, location, class, neighborhood; sale date, sale price; previous year's assessment, current year
assessment, difference in value, year built, lot sizè, style and livable area (in squ.are feet).

Visitors to the site will have the opportnity to easilyreview the sales occurrng in their
respective neighborhoods. Additional infonnation will also be uploaded, including but not
limited to the tax list Nèw values wil be posted at,anappropriate time and comparative analyses
wil be provided.

8
 K. Land Value Map

Following the formulation ofland valuations, a land value map shall be prepared for the
Assessor for his!her review which indicates all unit values and underlying data used to derive
unit values.. The land values wil be derived' from the market. Adjustments for lot sizes .
above and below zoning requirements wil be made and listed in a. Land V àlûeManuaL The
. Land Value Manual wil be given to the Assessor at the end of the revaluRtion. Preiiminar
lå.d values wil be given to the Assessor as they are developed during the course of the
program for the Assessor's input.

"L. Neighborhood Map

The firm shall create a neighborhood map prepared for the Assessor that wil indicate all ' .
neighborhoods and/or value control sectors in the Municipality.

M. Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA)

It is recommended that the Municipality obtain aCAMA package for purposes of revaluation
maintenance.

N. Office Space, .Furniture and Equipmeiit

The Fiim .shall be responsible for all office space and equipment required in connection with
. this project unless otherwise provided by contract.

O. Defense of Va hies/Expert Witness

1. The Firm shall assist the Assessor and the Municipality to defend all váhiations rendered
. . to the Municipality that may be appealed to the Hudson County Board of Taxàtion or directly
appealed to theTax Cour of New Jersey durng the tax year 2013 and through the completion of .
the appeaL. Such assistance shall include qualified expert personnel acceptable to the Assessor. .
who are knowledgeable with shall have inspected the properties subject to an appeaL. The
and

personnel appearng at the Hudson County Board of Taxation and the Tax Cour of New Jersey
on behalf of the Municipality shall be a licensed New JerseyReal Estate Appraiser for the
. paricular category of property under appeài.

ARTICLE VI
T AXPA YER REVIEW PROCEDURE

property. ' .. .
A. The Firm shall provide taxpayers with an opportnity to review the proposed assessment of
their

9
 B.The Firm, at its expense, shall mail a written notice, approved by the Assessor and not to be
mailed before November 10,2012, indicating the appraised value of the property and advising
taxpayers of their right to attend an individual informal review.

C. .Informal reviews shall be held at a designated location within the Municipality ard the Firm
shall schedule suffcient time to fully review and discuss the proposed assessment with the
. taxpayer.

1. Each taxpayer attending a review shall be afforded an individual meeting with a qualified
person employed by the Firm.

2012. .
. 2. Sufficient time shall be allowed to ~hear and conclude reviews on or before December 21,

3. A writte~ record of each review shall be provided to the Assessor in a fo~at approved by
the Assessor.

4. Suggested revisions by the Firm resulting from the taxpayer review shall be made with
. the consent of the Assessor.

5. Each taxpayer shall be informed in writing by the Firm of the result of its assessment
review within four weeks. of the conclusion of all reviews. The notice to the taxpayer wil
be in a manner approved by the Assessor.

ARTICLE VII
SURETY AND INSURACE

Prior to commencement ofa contract, the Firm shall provide the Jollowing coverages to the
Municipality to assure that the Municipality wil be adequately indemnified and saved harless
. from any lawsuit, litigation, deiand, or claim arising out of the revaluation contract In support
of the foregoing, and in addition to all indemnification and otliercoveragesrequiredby law, the
.Firm shall provide the following:

A. Workers' compensation insurance coverage in accordance with the standards of this State as
set forth in N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et seq.

B. Public liabilty and automobile liability in amounts not less than those provided for by law
for anyone person and anyone occurrence respecting property damage.

.. C. A performance surety bond in the amount of this contract, executed by a reputable bonding
compány authorized to do business in the State, subject to reduction to 10 percent of the
contract amount upon acceptance of the completed revaluation by the Assessor. Said reduced
amount shall remain in effect until the Firm has discharged all obligations respecting the
defense of the contract; and .

10
D. Copies of all policies of surety and insurance shall be provided to the
Municipality prior to the commencement of any porton of the contract.

ARTICLE VIII
SUMMARY AND DELIVERY

A The Firm shall provide the Assessor with completed property record cards filed in sequence
by block and lot numbers for all taxable and exempt properties. All supporting data,
documentation, and special procedures used in deriving values shall also be provided to the
Assessor.

B. The Firm shall make available qualified personnel for the purose of giving full' explanation
and instrçtions to the Assessor and hislher staff with regard to all materials submitted in all
phases offial revaluation.

C. A file containing the new values mu,st be provided by the Firm to the Assessor in a format and
medium consistent with the current New Jersey Property Tax System (MOD IV).

A If
. .
the Agreement exceeds $36,000.00,
ARTICLE

AFFIRMATIV ACTION
IX

it shall also be subject to the Affrmative Action

amendments to the Law Against Discrimination, N.J. S. A 10:5-31 et seq.

B. This Agreemeht shall not become effective and Realty Appraisal Company shall provide
no servÍces under this Agreement until it has executed the following:

1. A supplemental Affrmative Action Agreement pursuant to N. J. B.A 10:5-31 et seq.

(for contracts which exceed $36,000.00).

2. An Affrmative Actlon Employee Information Report (form AA-302) for contra:es

which exceed $36,000.

ARTICLE X
NEW JERSEY BUSINESS REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Realty Appraisal Company shall provide wrtten Ilotice to its subcontractors of the responsibility
to submit proofof business registration to the cóntractor.

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 Before final payment on the contract is maae by the contracting agency, the contractor shaIl .
submit an accurate list and the proof of business registration of each subcontractor or supplier
used in the fulfil1Ient of the contractor, or shall attest that no subcontractors were used. .

For the term of the contract, the contractor and each of affliates and a subcontractor and.each
its

oflts affliates and a subcontractor and each of
collect and remit to the Director, Departent of
ard Use Tax Act on all sales of
contracting agency.
its affiliates (NJ.S.A. 52:32-44(g)(3)) shall
Taxation, the use tax due pursuaIt to the Sales
tangible 'personal property is intended' for a contract with a
)

A business organization that fails to provide a copy of a business registration as required

, pursuant to -section i ofP.L. 2001, c. 134 (C.52:32-44 et seq~) or subsection e. or f. of section 92
,ofP.L. 1977, c. 110 (C.5:12-92), or that provides false business'fegistration information under
the requirements of either of those sections, shall he liable for a penalty of $25 foreacb day of
. violation, not to exceed $50,000 for each business registration copyrtot properly provided under
a contract with a contracting agency. .

.. . :
. The continuation of
ARTiCLE

CERTIFICATION OF FUNDS

this Agreement after the expenditure of

2011 fiscal year temporary budget shall be subject to the

XL

availability
funds encumbered in

and appropriation of
the

suffCient funds in the 2011 fiscal year permanent budget and in sùbsequent fiscal. year budgets. .
If additional fuiids are not appropriated, this Agreement shall teiiinate after the expenqiture of
funds encumbered in the 2011 fiscal year temporary budget.
'.,

forth àbove. .
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this agreement on the dateset

ATTEST: City of Jersey City

ROBERT BYRNE JOHN KELLY

City Clerk Business Administrator

ReaItyAppraisal Company

ATTEST:
(Name)
. (Title)

12
 .f

The foregoing Coiitractfor the City of Jersey City is hereby conditionally approved this
Dayof . 2011, in accordance with P.L. 1971, c. 424.

(Name)
Director, Divisi_on of Taxation'

.¡

13
3.12 Key Dates &, Deliverables

,
-r i
i. Review revaluation 1. Division of Taxation
proposals approves revaluation
I. Mail Certfied Chapter I. Review land
..
I. Conclude review nf .
9 I income and expense v!iues With Offce property values and .
contrct requests to commercial of City Assessor other reports with
2. Produce Request . 2. InterVew (date is estimated) 2. Contiue residential propert owners; Offce of City .
for Propos!i and rev!iuation firis 2. Compute and input iid COInetci!i propert 2. Do field check Assessor
send to qualified .. Revaluation Fiti tasks: lot size of every line inspections .. 2. Analyze rèsidenti!i and.
revaluation finn 3. Introduce and pass (drive- by review
item. commercial propert s!ie~ by apprasers) 2. Send value
City-'ordinance for i, Load Mod. IV Tape in 3. Contiue community . notifications .
3; Send Tax Maps to funding appropriation computer 3. Send notification outreach and educational 3. Review neighborhood. .3. Review (November 12)
New Jersey Division .. letter to propert owners meetings delineations with Assessor
of Taxation for . 4. Introduce and pass
pr~liinar
2. Place zoning distrcts valuations with
review 3, Hold informl
City. resolution hirig and propert sales on 4. Commence 4. Assist Offce of City . 4. Review Inunicipal Offce of CitY . taxpayer reviews
revaluation firm . map. residentiai and Assessor with 201 i & planing board and zoning Assessor (November 19 to Ind.
4. Produce commerci!i propert 2012 added assessments board approvaIs
revaluation ino for
December)
5. Send contract to j, Prit inspection fonn inspeètions
City web site Division ofTaxation 5. Pedorm income 4. Review and modify
for Approval 4. Coordinate public 5. Begin review of Short capitaliztions of values based on .
5. Send RFP to. education meetings With and Long term tax commerci!i properties informal reviews.
qualified Offce of City A§sessor abatements.
Revaluation finn
6. Conclude residential 5. Send change or
5. Establish Jersey City and commercial propert no/change letters to
offce inspections propert owners

6. File new tapeWitli

Hudson County Tax
Board

7. Deliver all propert.

records: and associated
files to Offce of City
Assessor
3.10 Projec Work Plan

· Phase 1 of the project work plan wil. be for the City of Jersey City to convert the
existing MOD IV ta~ inormation to correlate tothenewly certifieclta maps. Ths
conversion wil allow Realty Appraisal Co. to collect, anlyze and sort relative
inorition to the new Block and Lot designation. !

· Phase 2 of the project work pIRD requies the Tax Assessor to tour the City wit Reålty
Appraisal Co. staff, apd provide specific inorition regarding various neighborhoods
which is a valuable asiset in the promulgation of
the Neighborhood Delineations/Value
Control Maps and wil provide Realty Appraisal with thè tools necessar to prepare the
Value Control Maps and assist in the valuation process.

· Phase 3 of the projecLworkplan includes

data cQ~ection in each specific neighborhood.
In an effort to make avaitableas much data as possible, Realty Appraisal Co. requèsts
copies of deeds, sales ratio I-A form, zonig maps and zonig ordinance, .
redevelopment areas and redevelopment
plans, and properties subjectto long and short
term tax exemptions.

· Phase 4 of the project work plan wil consist of the periodic work review offièldwork ..
wil be conducted by the City Assessor and/or his staff. The Assessor and staff
which

wil have the opportty to weigh

in on any externa factors which may have an
inuence on propert valuation and check for acèuracy of work being performed by
Realty Appraisal. Co.

.. Phase 5 of the project work plan is sales/valuation analysis. The.

City AssessQr,wil.
have the opportnity to
approve the land.valuatloncaiculations and maps as well as
valuations specific to each delineated neighborhood and property class. Ths section
wil also include review for tle analysis and valuation of income producing including: .
commercial, industrial and aparment properties.'

· Phase 6 of the project work plan is the assessment notification and inormal hearing
process. The. City wil work with Realty Appraisal Co. to provide public relations and
convenient geogrtlphic locations for the inorml
hearings. Realty Appraisal Co. 'wil
maintain a master list of all taxpayers who have scheduled an inormal hearing .on the
assessmeiit notification.

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 · Phase 7 of the project plan is the assessment review. Realty Appraisal Co. wil create
and maintain a file for every propert owner who attends an assessment review,
whether or not the valuation is revised. Realty Appraisal Co. will also provide a list of

. . .
all réviews to the Offce of City Assessor, and wil mail a
second notification letter to .
those propert owners. There is little City parcipation in this section.

· Phase 8 of the project pián is the delivery of the revaluation. The City Assessor
shall
J. work with Realty Appraisal Co. and provide any assistance needed.to print the ta list
and submit same to the Hudson County Board of Taxatiòn.

· Phase 9 of the project work plan is the defense of tax: appeals: The City shall provide
legal counsel. during any hearings at the county level
and the state tax court.

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'CITY'.O~f=JER'SEY C.tTy:....... ."
Ö.fficeÖ(Uie..Ç'¡ty As'sessoro,. ....
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.26PGrove Street, :Room 116.. : .... .)'.
'Jers.~Ý'C'i1y,Nev\"Jersey:(n.302 .~ '.~
. ,'. .
. TeL.' 201-547-5131 Fax:201~5474g49 ,': .
O. . .'.'. . .

.' . EDUARDÖG.TÖLOzA . '. . .. ,.

. ASSESSOR . .' :
..' .
E~ecùtive Surary
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. On:pe~~~ber21,2011,Ihe'City.r~ceiYedfourprop()s~s'iirësponse t~'itsRF'.foT a'.Citt~wi~e' :".' . '.' .

: re:talnatio:Oof al. propert'lo.catedÌI the City of
Jersey . City., The actuâlr~cigs.of the proposals
:.'áJ~e~below:.'. . .'. . .. . .... . ....

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.HE"VAlUATIONFIRI\ ....
'.'. '.
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Ev~lurJtor;SNa'me
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Metcer, Jöhn .1 .
iiennèssey, .Michele; .., .' 2 .. 1
Mauet, :nOMa .2 1
Mays, Rox~e' 2 1
Murhy, Mary An '.. 2. .4 i'
. .. Tolaza, Eduardo . 2 .3 .4 i_~. .
.. 1
. '.
. Wenger, Jeff .2 4.' 3 1

. 'le-propôsa1 Were evalnåtedàccördÎgto cdt~ri~:~stiblished in theRF SECTION 6 as :.

gudelies, ','.. . .' d '.. . . ,. .... . . . d '. . :.~ .... . . .... .
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In accordance with the statutes for competitive contracting (N.J.S.A 40A:11 - 4.1), it is
recommeqded that acontract be awarded to REALTY APPRASAL COMPANY to perfonn a
. City-wide revaluation of atl real propert located in the City of Jersey City.

Background of City's Ratable Base

Jersey City is the State's secoiid largest muncipality with a diverse communty. of 21.1 square
miles (14.9 of and 6.2 underwater and is the seat of Hudson County. It is compusedof over
51,700 taable 35,780 residential, 5,712 commercial propeÌties)and 2,230
properties (with

exempt properties. For the laSt several.years, the number'Ûf sales, coeffcient of deviation, and
Director's Equaization Ratio have been as follo;vs:

Tax Year Director's . Coeffcient of Number

Ratio Deviation. of Sales

2010 29.43 34.72 936

2009 25.64 31.14 913
'2008 26.12 27.67 1,402
2007 28.71 27.13 1~949
2006 34.59 '28.59 3,029
2Q05 44.01 30.01 3,337

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As shoWn from the above table, the City's valuations of real estate properties are far from the ..
State's 15% above and below stadard. Take for an example, the Director's ratio, whatis
. established as an ideal nitiujsat 85, we are curently at 29.43, and the Coeffcient of

should be at 15 as against 34.12.. .

Deviation

Competitive contracting (N .J.S.A 40A: 11- 4.1 et seq) was employed to solicit proposals that
would attact the best qualified State's approved revaluatiòn finns. On December 21,1201 1, the
. Cit, received and the initial evaluation

.. .
four responses to the original Request for Proposals

process was stared. .

"\

. The RFP(and addenda) as issued in November 2010 is contiined in Appendix A.

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lntroduction

The City desires to solicit proposals tò iiplement a City-wìde revahiatiòn of all real estate properties '
located ìn the taìng District. It's overall goal is toeqüìtably clstrbtite the ta burden. A reval~tion
. is waranted whèn properties ìn a taxìngdismct are beìng valued
and assessed stibstatially below or
above tre market value. The lasttime the City had conducted a cìty-wìde revaluation was ìn 1988.
Though the years;. values have gone up at different paces~. The City is .statisticallyìn need to prepare
for the Cíty-wìde revaluatioJ, of all real estate propertiesìn the City. . ,

.1
Dellverables'

o . . 0 o. .
REALTY APPRASAL COMPANY

3.11 attached "APPENDIX B),

presented a sumaiofkey dates and dèIiverables (Seetion
milestones and associated deliverables fo.und in the work plan.

'Scope of Services..
. .
· . A complete revaluation of all properties witb thè bound~ies of the City of Jersey
City to becoIlpleted on or before October 1,2012.
· Classify and appraîse each parcel of real estate and eachreal propert iiprovement
. which lies wìthn theboundarie~ Of the City of Jersey City at î,ts faîr market value...'
accordìngto N.J.S.A. 54:4~1 et seq.
· The Gel1eralCoeffcientof D~viatioIi shall be~lessthan fifteeIi pèrcent (15%) the
subsequent year afer the revaluation is completed. il the event, that the General
Coeffcient of Deviation exceeds the criteria as outliIed ìn N.J.A. C. 18: 12A -1.14(i),
.
the year afer the revaluationis.completed,the Firi shall revalùe/reassess ìnc1uding
the re.,ìn~pectlon (ìnterior anclexterior) any and'all propert necessar to
achieve a
the
contract price specified hereìn. .
GeneraldCoeffcientòfDeviatióIl ofless than fifteen percent (15%) as a par of

· A complete cataog ~f valuation metlodology shall be provided to the Tax Assessor

,outlinrigthe methods, gudeiinesandprócedures utilzed durg
the revaluation
,.process. .
· The Fin is required to adhere to an applicable requirements of the Uniform
Standards of Professional Appntisal Practice (USPAf), in paricular Standard.6,
entitled "Mass Appraîsal~ Development & Repoìtg." '.
. Work shall be required to commence withthì(30) days of the effective date of
awardìng this contract which is subject to approval by the Division of
Taxation and
appropriate fudìng. .

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Evaluation Criteria

As indicated above, competitive contracting was

produce an RFP which would
used in order to

. provide the City with exactly (or nearly exactly) the services required. In addition, given the
expected complexity of the responses, a consistent format including required elements was
developed to ensure that an "apples to apples" comparson of proposals could be conducted.

. Appendix C contains a blan copy of the evaluation matrix. There were three broad criteria by
which proposals wereevahIated. Each criterion has a certain weight, and extent to which the
criterion was met or èxceeded was determined by
the committee. The written response was worth
100 points as indicated below.

1. Technical Requirements: 30 points

· Proposed Methodology (20 points)
· . Public Relations (10 points)

2. Management Criteria: 30 points

· Project Management Plan (7 points)
experience in pedorming the work (8 points)
· . History and

· Availabilty of facilties, equipment and qther resources (15 points)

personnel,

3.' Cost Criteria: 40 points

· Cost of Services to be be performed (15 points)

provided to

· Assurances of pedormance (1 0 points)

· Vendor's financial stabilty and strength (15 points)

Written response evaluation

For each of the above Written response criteria, the coniittee determined the extent to which the
. requirements were fulfilled. They were scored as follows:

1. Techncal Criteria- 30 Points

2. M~agement Criteria - 30 Points
. 3. Cost Criteria - 40 Points

Each criterion was weighted by the extent towhi~h the requirements are met and the resultant

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.. scores totaled, wîth 100 being the highest possible score. Each evaluator then raned the Vendors
by total score.

Evaluation Committee

The evaluation commttee consisted of 7 employees with vared skill sets, in order to provide a
. well-rounded assessInent of the prospeCtive vendors' abilties. The members of the committee
. included:

John Mercer, Assistat Business Administrator, Deparinent of Administration

Michele Hennessey, Deputy Tax Assessor, Office of Tax Assessments
Donna Mauer, Chief Financial Officer, Division of Management and Budget
Roxane Mays, Deputy Tax Assessor, Office of Tax Assessments
/ Mar An Murhy; Assistat Corporation Counsel, Law Ddparment
Edward Toloza,Tax Assessor, Offce of Tax Assessments
Jeff Wenger, Prihcipal Planer, Deparmènt of HE DC

Appendix D contains eachcornttee member's Certification of Non-Confict of Interest, as

required by the competitive contracting statutes.

Proposals received

A totai offour proposals were received inresponsè to the City's RFP. They are listed below
alphabetically with the total proposed cost:

Appraisal Systems $6,496,300

Certified Valuations $6,509,000

Tyler Technologies/
CLT Div $5,453,300
Realty Appraisal Co: . $3,150,000

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.
Evaluation Process

The evaluation process consisted of the followig steps:

. Intial independent review öf proposals

Commttee meeting to discuss preliminar impressions and to address tychncal questions

Interviews of top tWo choices .

. Finalindepend!?nt review o~proposals. and submission of evaluation matrix

Evaluatioii results

The ranngs and total scores

(out of 100) received by the proposals appear below:

.,.
I

REVALUATION 'FIHM
Evaluator's Name p 0 I. N T 5

Mercer, John 55 45 33 57

Hennessey, Michele 79 42 . 25 96

Mauer,: Donna. 81 41 34. 95

Mays, Roxanne 88 66 70 . 99
L

Murphy, Mar Ann 75. 50 29 93

Toloza, Eduardo 78 71 50 . 85

. Wenger, Jeff 79 45 47 97

Total Points 535 360 288 622

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Because àll ofabo'ye firms are approved Revalùation fums by the State of
. . New Jersey, it is clear'.
thatall of the vendors are capable of performing the revaluation.

Realty Appraisal Co. was raned highest by all five reviewers, anhough Appraisal Systems also
made a strong showig-Craned 2iid by all five reviewers), however Realty Appraisal .
demonstrated the level of work that fue City can rea~on:ablY'expect from a revaluation firm.

The proposal from Appraisàl Systems was judged as .second, although their cost ($6,496,300)
was deemed excessive.. .
The detaled evaluatio~ spreadsheets prepared by each reviewer appear iI Appendix E.

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