Like many other people throughout western Monmouth County and New Jersey, the residents of the Surrey Downs adult community off of Route 524 in Howell are concerned about the amount of property taxes they pay.

A recent revaluation of all properties in Howell has, in some cases, added a significant amount to the bottom line that some homeowners are paying in property taxes.

A property revaluation is not bad for everyone, however. There are, no doubt, people in Howell who have seen their total property tax bill decline. Those people may well have been overpaying on their property taxes, relatively speaking, for several years because their assessment was too high, while residents in communities such as Surrey Downs may have been underpaying, relatively speaking, because their homes were assessed at a value much lower than what they were worth on the market.

Some polls that have been reported in the media indicate that property taxes are the No. 1 issue on the mind of Garden State residents. The way in which New Jersey funds its schools - through property taxes - is a significant factor in the amount of taxes people pay every year.

In some cases escalating property taxes have driven people out of state.

Here are the facts in a nutshell that have the residents of Surrey Downs up in arms. Before Howell was ordered to undergo a property revaluation in 2006, the previous revaluation had been conducted in 1991.

Back in 1991, the average unit in Surrey Downs (the average is from all of the different types of housing units) was assessed at $86,000, according to Howell tax assessor Tom Lenihan. By 2006 the overall tax rate in Howell had reached $4.17 per $100 of assessed valuation. Those numbers yielded a total property tax bill of about $3,586 for 2006 (4.17 x 860) and that is the figure the residents of Surrey Downs were living with.

Following the 2006 revaluation, the average unit in Surrey Downs was reassessed at $236,000, according to Lenihan. The total tax rate was adjusted downward to $1.95 per $100 of assessed valuation. When you do the math (1.95 x 2,360), those numbers yield a total property tax bill of about $4,602, an increase of $1,016 to the owner of the average unit in Surrey Downs.

And that $1,000 increase from 2006 to 2007 is what has the residents of Surrey Downs very concerned, according to Mary Ann Calogera, the property manager for the community. The increase comes to about $20 per week, and that makes a difference for some of the people who live in the development.

In an effort to try to understand what is happening to property taxes in their community and in New Jersey, the board of directors of Surrey Downs has invited state Sen. Robert Singer, state Assemblyman Joseph Malone and state Assemblyman Ron Dancer to address the issue in a meeting to be held at Surrey Downs on Aug. 28, Calogera said.

I am not really certain what the three Republican legislators will be able to tell the people who attend that meeting that they (the residents) don't already know. There should be no debate that school funding reform and a limit on state spending is needed; the fact of the matter is that our representatives in Trenton have not been able to make it happen.

I could argue that the Democrats who control the Legislature and the governor's office have stalled these changes and that Republicans deserve a chance to be in charge.

Well, that is why they have elections, so we will see what happens in November when all 120 seats in the Legislature (40 in the Senate, 80 in the Assembly, but not the governor) are on the ballot. If you do not like what's going on, vote for people you believe can bring about meaningful change in the state's top issue.

Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the Tri-Town News.