contract for jersey city's property tax revaluation

8/7/2019 Contract for Jersey City's Property Tax Revaluation

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City Clerk File No. Res. 11-068Agenda No. 10.JApproved:TITLE: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AWARD OF ACONTRCT TO REALTY APPRAISAL COMPAN TOPROVID"E A COMPLETE REVALUATION OF ALL REALPROPERTY LOCATED IN THE CITY OF JERSE CITY

COUNCIL OFFERED AN MOVED ADOPTION OF THEFOLLOWING RESOLUTION:WHEREAS, the Hudson County Board of Taxation ordered the City of JerseyCity (City) to implement a City-wide revaluation to be completed by September30,2012 and be effective for the 2013 tax year andWHEREAS, a City-wide revaluation wil spread the tax burden equitablythoughout the City and will ensure that every property owner is paying his or herfair share of propery taes; andWHEREAS, pursuant to NJ.S.A. 40A:1l-4.1(k), the Director of the Divisionof Local Goverent Services (Director) authorized the City to use competitivecontracting to award a contract to pedorm a City-wide revaluation; andWHEREAS, pursuat to NJ.S.A 40A:1l-4.3(a), the ity Council approvedResolution 10-286 on May 10, 2010 authorizing the use of competitivecontracting to award a contract to pedorm a City-wide revaluation; andWHEREAS, the City adverised for bids pursuant to the CompetitiveContracting Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:II-4.1 ,e~. and received foiiproposals:

Realty Appraisal Company....$3,150,000Tyler Technologies............ .$5,453,000Appraisal Systems, Inc.. ... ....$6,496,300.Certified Valuations, Inc.... ..$6,509,000; and

WHEREAS, a committee appointed by the Business Administrator reviewedthe proposals and prepared the report attched hereto, recmmending that thecontract in the amount of $3,150,000 be awarded to Realty Appraisal Company;and .WHEREAS, temporar fuds in the amount of $1,000,000 are available inAccount No. 1-201-30-419-314.NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Municipal. Council ofthe 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 xceed the sum of$3,150,000. Therevaluation wil begin upon the contract's approval by the Direction, Division ofTaxation'. and the revaluation should be completed by 12/31/12 for the filing ofthe 2013 tax list on 1/13/13. Realty Appraisal Company wil defend appeals forthe 2013 tax year at the County Tax Board and State Tax Cour, until finalresolution - even if the matters aren't resolved until 2014.


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Continuation of ResolutionCity Clerk File No.Agenda No,TITLE:

Res. 11':06810.J

Pg.# 2

3) Subject to such modification as deemed necessar or appropriate byCorporation Counsel, the Mayor or Business Admnistrator is authorizedto execute an agreement prepared by the Purchasing Agent based on theterms and conditions of the City's Request for Proposals document;

4) Notice of ths action shall be published in a newspaper of generalcirculation withn the muncipality with ten days ofthis award; .5) The. resolution authorizing the award of this contract and the contract itselfshall be available for public inspection;6) This Agreement shall be subject to the condition that Realty AppraisalCompany provide satisfactory evideiice of compliance with theAffrmative 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 toattest that the contractor has complied with specifications iii all respects,and the requirements of the contract met, then payment to the contractorshall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Local Fiscal AffairsLaw,NJ.S.A 40A:5-1 ~

.8) The continuation of the contract after expenditue of funds encumbered in2011 fiscal year temporary budget shall be contingent.upon.the availabilityand appropriations of suffcient fuds in the 201 i fiscal year peranentbudget in the subsequent fiscal year budget.

I, (Donna Mauer), Chief Financial Officer, certify thatthere are suffcient fuds ($3,150,000) available for the pyment of the aboveresolution in Account No. 01-201-30-419-314PO NUMBER:

~LFORMCorporation Counsel.

Certification Required oNot Required

RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE. 219/11COUNCILPERSON AYE NAY N.V. . :COUNCJLPERSON AYE t-AY N.V. . COUNCILPERSOto AYE NAY N,V.SOTTOLANO . GAUGHAN VELAZQUEZDONNELLY FULOP FLOODLOPEZ 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


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. .ONTRACT FOR PROVIDING A. COMPLETE REVALUATION OFALL REAL PROPERTY FORTAX EQUALIZATION PURPOSESBETWEEN

CITY OF JERSEY CITYAMUNI~IPAL CORPORATION OFTHE STATE OF NEW JERSEYAND

REALTY APPRAISAL COMP ANYANEW JERSEY CORPORATION

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENTTHIS AGREEMENT, made this ~.day of by and' betweenThe City of Jersey City, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New Jersey, hereinafter referredto as the Municipality and/or City,

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

4912 Bergenline AvenueWest 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, buildingsand Improvements contained within the boundares fthe City and desires to engage the servicesof 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 b legally bound hereby, it isagreed as follows:The City of Jersey City agrees to pay the sum of $3, 150,000, in full for consideration of the

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services to be rendered herein.

. ARTICLEICONTitCTCONTINGENT UPON APPROVAL BYTHE DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF TAXATION

A. The Firm shallpedorm for the City all the required services in accordance with theRequest for Proposal '(RFP) prepared by the City and the proposal ("Proposal")prepared by tae Firm and submitted to' the City on Decenber 21, 2010; ThisAgreement, the RFP ,and the Proposal are intended to complement and supplementeach 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 shallgovern over theRFr and the Proposal, and the provisionsoftheRFP shall governover the Proposal.'. .

B. This contract is contingent upon approval of the Director of the Division'ofTaxationand shall not be effective until such approval is noted on the approval page providedwithin 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 ofTaxation and the Director of the Division of Taxation.

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

. ARTICLE IICONFLICT OF INTERESTA. The following provisions with respect to offcers, stockholders and employees ofthe Finrshall include: ' ..1. No commissioner or employee ofthe HuqsonCounty Board of Taxation and no'

assessor within the County of Hudson shall have any interest whatsoever, directly orindirectly, 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 propertyowner or taxpayer filing a tax appeal with respect to the revaluation. completed by theFirm for a period of three years from the date.ofthe contract.

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ARTICLE IIIAPPRAlSAL FIRM: QUALIFICATIONS OF PRICIPALS AND EMPLOYEES

A.Th 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 thevalutions 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 re responsible. Two years ofthis experience must have been in the mass appraisal field and occurred within the pastfive years;... . : '. ... 'Field personnel, bulding enumerators and lists shall have received 150 hours of in servicetraining pertaining totheir paricular phase of work and shall be generally awar~ of allother phases of the revahiationproject before starting actualfi~ld work;

( . . Personnel determining final land values shall meet the qualifications prescribed forsupervisors in direct charge of the work.. ., . , .. The Firm shall submit a resume on behalf of principals and supervisors.- . .ARTICLE IVCONDITIONS 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 useby the Property Administration Local Property Branch

B. Official Records1. A copy f the State approved fieof cu~ent propery records for all propertiescurrently listed upon the tax records of the Municipality. This tape shall include theblock, lot, additional lots, owner's name and address, property location, propertyclassification.

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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 officialrecords and canot be used by the Firm. The Finn has a responsibilty to field. inspect allproperties.

C. Letters of Introduction to facltate the Fimi's access to properties for inspection and datacollection 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 Frm to propertyowners usually require the signature of the Assessor.

ARTICLE VSTANDARDS FOR REVALAUTIONThe Firm shall comply with the standards and conditions as herein set forth. The Firm acts as theagent 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 VahieReal property should be valued in accordance with N.J.S.A. 54:4-1 et seq.. All proprty real'and personal shall be subject to taxation anually under this chapter. . Such property shallbe 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 tomanufacture 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 torefine.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 r associations and shall not include any intangible personal property:

B. Property Under Construction , .he Firm ~hall determine the percentage of completion and the appraisal value of propertythat is under construction' or alteration as of October 1, 2012, preceding the irtplementationofthe rev:aluation.

C. Tax Exerrpt PropertyA separate list of exempt properties shall be provided indicating the values. of said property'-

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'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 ollectand analyze local sales that occurred during the previous thee

. years, in its application of the market data approach. The Firm shall prepare a sampleformat that wil be used in the application of this approach to vlue.3. With respect to the income approach to vaiU:e, the Firm shall ptepare a written report outliningthe factors used to develop the income approach method to valuation. The Firm shall prepare andrequest 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 localmarket place to derive economic rates, rentals and expenses in order to anve at a supportableindication of value. All supporting data relevant to the capitalization procedure shall beSubmitted with the property record cards.4. The three approaches to value shall be reconciled and the final estimate of value shall beclearly noted on the property record card.E. Real Property Appraisal Manual1. The most recent edition of the Real Property Appraisal Manual for New JerseyAssessorsshall. be used as a basis in the appcation of the cost approach to value' for residentialproperty.2. The Marshall-Swift Valuation manual wil be utilzed for the cost approach of class 4properties.

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

F. Property Record Cards1. The Firm shall include real property identification material on properly labeled individualproperty record cards similar in form and content to those ilustrated in the Real PropertyAppraisal ManuaL.2. Distinct property record cards for each of the four classifications of real property shall beprovided.

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G. Information on Property Record CardsThe real property identificiion 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 bothan interior and exterior inspection;3. Entries on the property record cards respecting the values of each lot .and buildingincluding such items as ge, constrction, condition, depreciation, obsolescence,additions and deductions, appraised value, recent sales prices, rental data and all otherpertinent information pertaining to the valuation of the property.4. Where more than one property record card is required in the description of a property, allcards shall be assembled in a standard fie folder and properly labeled;5. Each property record card shall identify the individual making the inspection and setforththe 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 theproperty record card.

H. Inspection ProcedureThe 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 theproperty 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 tocontact the Firm to make other arangements, if necessary;4. If entr is not possible upon the second visit, wrtten notice shall be left advising that anassessment wil be estimated unless a mutually convenient arangement is made for athird visit to gain access to the property; .5. The Firm shall schedule inspections durng reasonable hours which shall includeevenings and Satudays;6. The Assessor shall be notified in writing of each failure to gain entry to a property and a

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list of all non-entres and reasons for same shall be provided to the Assessor prior to themailng of estimated value notices.7. The Firm shall notify the Assessor of any properties discovered that are not ,on the current yeartax list. Notification of discovered propertes shall be in a timely maner toprmirthe Assessoradequate 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 theTax Assessor a'list of properties where the lot sizes differto determin tIiecorrect lot size to bevalued.

i. Progress and Control of Operations1. The Firm shallcoinipence work within 7 days after approval of the contract by theDirector of the Division of Taxation and complete all ofthe contract tefms: This does notinclude the mailing' of assessment notices, taxpayer reviews and appeal defenserequirements, 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 amonth. 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 ina~cordance with the contract schedule.4. 'The Assessor shall forward the reports to the Hudson County Board of Taxation. Ifthe.CountyB()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 followedin this regard. In no event shall the Firm. bil more than 90% of the total contract priceunti ~ii completion and performance of the contract, including the defenseof appeals.6. Furthermore, if the character or progress of the work is not satisfactory to the Hudson County.Board fTaxatin after two consecutive months, the HudsonCoufity Board of Taxation shallalso notify the Director of the Division of Taxation in writing of such lack of satisfactoryprogress as soon as possible.7. Any change in personnel shall besubmitted in writing to the Assessor and to the HudsonCounty Board of Taxation.

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

J. Taxpayer Orientation and.EducationThe Finn shall conduct and/or assist the Municipality in aprogram of taxpayer orientationaid educatiori regarding the revaluatinn program. The program shall include, bl.t is notnecessarly 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 expnse,t() all property ownersexplaining the natue and purpose of the revaluation and setting forth a proposed date forthe commencement of inspections in the municipality; '.4. The Firm shall provide.,photographic identification cards to its representatives.. CopieswiU 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 fullcooperation of all taxpayers by treating each inquiry with courtesy and supplying allpossible necessary information within statutory requirements and limits to everyinterested taxpayer; however, each field appraiser/lister shall. be instructed to refrain fromdiscussing with the property owner, tenant, or occupant the possibilty of any increase ordcrease. in the valuation of the real properly and/or buildings, since.anyinformation ispreliminary, in natue at this point in tim~. This restriction wil be strictly adhered to andany violation wil be just cause for the Assessor to ,request that the emplyee be removedfrom 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 yearassessment, difference in value, year built, lot siz, style and livable area (in squ.are feet).Visitors to the site will have the opportnity to easilyreview the sales occurrng in theirrespective neighborhoods. Additional infonnation will also be uploaded, including but notlimited to the tax list Nw values wil be posted at,anappropriate time and comparative analyseswil be provided.

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K. Land Value MapFollowing the formulation ofland valuations, a land value map shall be prepared for theAssessor for his!her review which indicates all unit values and underlying data used to deriveunit 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 leManuaL The

. Land Value Manual wil be given to the Assessor at the end of the revaluRtion. Preiiminarl.d values wil be given to the Assessor as they are developed during the course of theprogram for the Assessor's input.

"L. Neighborhood MapThe 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 revaluationmaintenance.

N. Office Space, .Furniture and EquipmeiitThe 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 Witness1. The Firm shall assist the Assessor and the Municipality to defend all vhiations rendered

. . to the Municipality that may be appealed to the Hudson County Board of Taxtion or directlyappealed 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 and shall have inspected the properties subject to an appeaL. Thepersonnel appearng at the Hudson County Board of Taxation and the Tax Cour of New Jerseyon behalf of the Municipality shall be a licensed New JerseyReal Estate Appraiser for the. paricular category of property under appei.

ARTICLE VIT AXPA YER REVIEW PROCEDUREA. The Firm shall provide taxpayers with an opportnity to review the proposed assessment oftheir property. ' .. .

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B.The Firm, at its expense, shall mail a written notice, approved by the Assessor and not to bemailed before November 10,2012, indicating the appraised value of the property and advisingtaxpayers of their right to attend an individual informal review.C. .Informal reviews shall be held at a designated location within the Municipality ard the Firmshall 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 qualifiedperson employed by the Firm.

. 2. Sufficient time shall be allowed to ~hear and conclude reviews on or before December 21,2012. .3. A writte~ record of each review shall be provided to the Assessor in a fo~at approved bythe 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 assessmentreview within four weeks. of the conclusion of all reviews. The notice to the taxpayer wilbe in a manner approved by the Assessor.

ARTICLE VIISURETY AND INSURACEPrior to commencement ofa contract, the Firm shall provide the Jollowing coverages to theMunicipality 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 supportof 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 asset 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 lawfor anyone person and anyone occurrence respecting property damage.

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

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

ARTICLE VIIISUMMARY AND DELIVERY

A The Firm shall provide the Assessor with completed property record cards filed in sequenceby 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 theAssessor.B. The Firm shall make available qualified personnel for the purose of giving full' explanationand instrtions to the Assessor and hislher staff with regard to all materials submitted in allphases offial revaluation.C. A file containing the new values mu,st be provided by the Firm to the Assessor in a format andmedium consistent with the current New Jersey Property Tax System (MOD IV).

ARTICLE IXAFFIRMATIV ACTION. .If the Agreement exceeds $36,000.00, it shall also be subject to the Affrmative Actionamendments 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 provideno servces 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:eswhich exceed $36,000.

ARTICLE XNEW JERSEY BUSINESS REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Realty Appraisal Company shall provide wrtten Ilotice to its subcontractors of the responsibilityto submit proof of business registration to the cntractor.

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

)

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 underthe 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 undera contract with a contracting agency. .

ARTiCLE XLCERTIFICATION OF FUNDS.. . :. The continuation of this Agreement after the expenditure of funds encumbered in the

2011 fiscal year temporary budget shall be subject to the availability and appropriation ofsuffCient funds in the 2011 fiscal year permanent budget and in sbsequent fiscal. year budgets. .If additional fuiids are not appropriated, this Agreement shall teiiinate after the expenqiture offunds encumbered in the 2011 fiscal year temporary budget.

'.,IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this agreement on the datesetforth bove. .ATTEST: City of Jersey City

ROBERT BYRNECity Clerk JOHN KELLYBusiness Administrator

ReaItyAppraisal Company

ATTEST:(Name). (Title)

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.f

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

(Name)Director, Divisi_on of Taxation'

.

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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. Thsconversion wil allow Realty Appraisal Co. to collect, anlyze and sort relativeinorition to the new Block and Lot designation. !

Phase 2 of the project work pIRD requies the Tax Assessor to tour the City wit ReltyAppraisal Co. staff, apd provide specific inorition regarding various neighborhoodswhich is a valuable asiset in the promulgation of the Neighborhood Delineations/ValueControl Maps and wil provide Realty Appraisal with th tools necessar to prepare theValue 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. requstscopies of deeds, sales ratio I-A form, zonig maps and zonig ordinance, .redevelopment areas and redevelopment plans, and properties subjectto long and shortterm tax exemptions.

Phase 4 of the project work plan wil consist of the periodic work review offildwork ..which wil be conducted by the City Assessor and/or his staff. The Assessor and staffwil have the opportty to weigh in on any externa factors which may have aninuence on propert valuation and check for acuracy of work being performed byRealty 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 asvaluations specific to each delineated neighborhood and property class. Ths sectionwil 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 hearingprocess. The. City wil work with Realty Appraisal Co. to provide public relations andconvenient geogrtlphic locations for the inorml hearings. Realty Appraisal Co. 'wilmaintain a master list of all taxpayers who have scheduled an inormal hearing .on theassessmeiit notification.

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Phase 7 of the project plan is the assessment review. Realty Appraisal Co. wil createand 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 ofall rviews 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 pin is the delivery of the revaluation. The City Assessor shallwork with Realty Appraisal Co. and provide any assistance needed.to print the ta listand submit same to the Hudson County Board of Taxatin.J.

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

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. '. . . " .. \ "4'.'CITY'.O~f=JER'SEY C.tTy:....... .".ffice(Uie..'ty As'sessoro,. .....26PGrove Street, :Room 116.. :'Jers.~'C'i1y,Nev\"Jersey:(n.302 .~ '.~. TeL.' 201-547-5131 Fax:201~5474g49 ,': .

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ty.r~ceiYedfourprop()s~s'iirsponse t~'itsRF'.foT a'.Citt~wi~e' :".' . '.' .: re:talnatio:Oof al. propert'lo.catedI the City of Jersey . City., The actulr~cigs.of the proposals:.'J~e~below:.'. . .'. . .. . .... . ....

.HE"VAlUATIONFIRI\ ....' . -.: ',. ',' '.-..'. '.Ev~lurJtor;SNa'me:. -," '.'Metcer, Jhniiennssey, .Michele; .., . 'Mauet, :nOMaMays, Rox~e'

2 ... 222 . . 4urhy, Mary An '..

. Wenger, Jeff . 2. 2.34.' .43. '.

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. 'le-propsa1 Were evalntedccrdgto 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 isrecommeqded 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 BaseJersey City is the State's secoiid largest muncipality with a diverse communty. of 21.1 squaremiles (14.9 of and 6.2 underwater and is the seat of Hudson County. It is compusedof over51,700 taable properties (with 35,780 residential, 5,712 commercial propeties)and 2,230exempt properties. For the laSt several.years, the number'f sales, coeffcient of deviation, andDirector's Equaization Ratio have been as follo;vs:

Tax Year Director's . Coeffcient of NumberRatio Deviation. of Sales2010 29.43 34.72 9362009 25.64 31.14 913'2008 26.12 27.67 1,4022007 28.71 27.13 1~9492006 34.59 '28.59 3,0292Q05 44.01 30.01 3,337

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 Deviation( .' - .hould be at 15 as against 34.12.. .Competitive contracting (N .J.S.A 40A: 11- 4.1 et seq) was employed to solicit proposals thatwould attact the best qualified State's approved revaluatin finns. On December 21,1201 1, the

. Cit, received four responses to the original Request for Proposals and the initial evaluationprocess was stared. ."\ .. .

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

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lntroductionThe City desires to solicit proposals t iiplement a City-wde revahiatin of all real estate properties 'located n the tang District. It's overall goal is toeqtably clstrbtite the ta burden. A reval~tion

. is waranted whn properties n a taxngdismct are beng valued and assessed stibstatially below orabove tre market value. The lasttime the City had conducted a cty-wde revaluation was n 1988.Though the years;. values have gone up at different paces~. The City is .statisticallyn need to preparefor the Cty-wde revaluatioJ, of all real estate propertiesn the City. . ,

Dellverables' .1REALTY APPRASAL COMPANY presented a sumaiofkey dates and dIiverables (Seetion3.11 attached "APPENDIX B), milestones and associated deliverables fo.und in the work plan.. . 0 o. .

'Scope of Services... .. A complete revaluation of all properties witb th bound~ies of the City of JerseyCity to becoIlpleted on or before October 1,2012. Classify and apprase each parcel of real estate and eachreal propert iiprovement

. which lies wthn theboundarie~ Of the City of Jersey City at ,ts far market value...'accordngto N.J.S.A. 54:4~1 et seq. The Gel1eralCoeffcientof D~viatioIi shall be~lessthan fifteeIi prcent (15%) thesubsequent year afer the revaluation is completed. il the event, that the GeneralCoeffcient of Deviation exceeds the criteria as outliIed n N.J.A. C. 18: 12A -1.14(i),. the year afer the revaluationis.completed,the Firi shall revale/reassess nc1udingthe re.,n~pectlon (nterior anclexterior) any and'all propert necessar to achieve aGeneraldCoeffcientfDeviatiIl ofless than fifteen percent (15%) as a par of thecontract price specified heren. .

A complete cataog ~f valuation metlodology shall be provided to the Tax Assessor,outlinrigthe methods, gudeiinesandprcedures utilzed durg the revaluation,.process. . The Fin is required to adhere to an applicable requirements of the UniformStandards of Professional Appntisal Practice (USPAf), in paricular Standard.6,entitled "Mass Apprasal~ Development & Repotg." '.

. Work shall be required to commence withth(30) days of the effective date ofawardng this contract which is subject to approval by the Division of Taxation andappropriate fudng. .

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Evaluation CriteriaAs indicated above, competitive contracting was used in order to produce an RFP which would

. provide the City with exactly (or nearly exactly) the services required. In addition, given theexpected complexity of the responses, a consistent format including required elements wasdeveloped 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 bywhich proposals wereevahIated. Each criterion has a certain weight, and extent to which thecriterion was met or xceeded was determined by the committee. The written response was worth100 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) . History and experience in pedorming the work (8 points) Availabilty of personnel, facilties, equipment and qther resources (15 points)

3.' Cost Criteria: 40 points

Cost of Services to be provided to be performed (15 points) 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-2. M~agement Criteria -

. 3. Cost Criteria -30 Points30 Points40 Points

Each criterion was weighted by the extent towhi~h the requirements are met and the resultant.. - 4-


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.. scores totaled, wth 100 being the highest possible score. Each evaluator then raned the Vendorsby total score.

Evaluation CommitteeThe 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 AdministrationMichele Hennessey, Deputy Tax Assessor, Office of Tax AssessmentsDonna Mauer, Chief Financial Officer, Division of Management and BudgetRoxane Mays, Deputy Tax Assessor, Office of Tax AssessmentsMar An Murhy; Assistat Corporation Counsel, Law DdparmentEdward Toloza,Tax Assessor, Offce of Tax AssessmentsJeff Wenger, Prihcipal Planer, Deparmnt of HE DC

Appendix D contains eachcornttee member's Certification of Non-Confict of Interest, asrequired by the competitive contracting statutes.

Proposals receivedA totai offour proposals were received inrespons to the City's RFP. They are listed belowalphabetically with the total proposed cost:

Appraisal Systems $6,496,300Certified Valuations $6,509,000Tyler Technologies/CLT Div $5,453,300Realty Appraisal Co: . $3,150,000

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. Evaluation Process

The evaluation process consisted of the followig steps:

. Intial independent review f proposalsCommttee meeting to discuss preliminar impressions and to address tychncal questionsInterviews of top tWo choices .

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

Evaluatioii resultsThe ranngs and total scores (out of 100) received by the proposals appear below:

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REVALUATION 'FIHMEvaluator's Name p 0 I. N T 5Mercer, John 55 45 33 57Hennessey, Michele 79 42 . 25 96Mauer,: Donna. 81 41 34. 95Mays, Roxanne 88 66 70 . 99

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Murphy, Mar Ann 75. 50 29 93Toloza, Eduardo 78 71 50 . 85

. Wenger, Jeff 79 45 47 97Total Points 535 360 288 622

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G . .Because ll ofabo'ye firms are approved Revalation 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 alsomade 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 Appraisl 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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contract for jersey city's property tax revaluation

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