New Tax Assessor in Lakewood

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lakewood-tax-assessors-officeZach Patberg of the Asbury Park Press reports: Lakewood Township has hired a replacement for Linda Solakian, the beleaguered tax assessor who resigned in September following an overload of work and criticism.

Edward R. Seeger Jr., the deputy tax assessor in Lacey for nearly five years, will take over starting Monday at a salary of $82,000, the township manager’s office said.

Solakian left after 13 years when public rebuke from some in the Orthodox community, coupled by an increasing workload, began to take a toll on her health, she said. Two township officials, Aivar Rannamyae, who has a tax assessor’s certificate, and tax attorney Salvatore Alfieri, ran the office in the interim.

Seeger now faces a daunting task. This year, a third of all tax appeals in the county – some 4,500 – were in Lakewood.

{APP/Matzav.com Newscenter}


2 COMMENTS

  1. As an Orthodox assessor in another part of the country that also has a large Jewish and also Orthodox community I am in a position to understand both sides of the fence. At least in my area I know how hard and with great concern for accurate values the people on the inside worked — and how much they succeeded at that task. I also know how upset people were particularly in 2008 about their assessments. They could not believe that values had not declined more than they actually had. Everyone knows that the Jewish areas and the upper income non Jewish areas appeal the most. But the worst of it is the reputation the Jewish areas have for “how” difficult the appellants are. I have seen this for myself…I am not allowed to do the areas I live in…I do not know what has gone on in Lakewood, but I implore you –your reputation is more important than any money you may or may not save on your taxes. “We” are known; we either make a kiddush Hashem or a chillul Hashem…Please treat everyone you know with respect…

  2. As a frum former State of New Jersey Certified Tax Assessor, I can assure you that the bulk of the problems in Lakewood was 2 fold. The Assessors attitude and the Township committee wanting an artificially low tax-rate, therefore the valeues had to be inflated.

    I believe that with the new assessor we will have both areas of concern aleviated.

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