Lakewood, NJ – For the last 85 years, Charles Aufiero has called a small brick house on East 11th Street home.He remembers when the road outside was dirt. “My whole destiny was to be in this house and take care of my people,” said the 90-year-old, who never married. But when he got his property tax bill in the mail a few weeks ago, Aufiero’s days in the family home appeared to be numbered. His tax bill more than doubled, the result of a property revaluation in town. “I damn near fell through the floor,” he said.

For the past week, he has contemplated selling the home and tried to figure out ways to make the numbers work, to stretch out his $700 a month from Social Security.

What he didn’t know is that he may be eligible for help from the state.

Seniors who earn less than $40,869 can apply for assistance in the form of a “Senior Freeze” on property taxes. The deadline for applying this year has been extended from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31, State Treasurer Bradley Abelow announced earlier this month.

“I never heard of it,” Aufiero said. “That would help a lot.”

As lawmakers in Trenton debate how to reform property taxes in New Jersey, many pinched property owners are in crisis mode. The average annual tax bill for a New Jersey property owner is roughly $6,000 � twice the national average.

When Aufiero’s tax bill arrived, instead of the $548 quarterly tax bill payment he’s been accustomed to making for years, his August bill was $1,364.

Aufiero now wonders if there are others out there wrestling with how to cope, unaware help is out there. In Aufiero’s case, it took the jolt of a revaluation to spark a hunt for help.

Lakewood underwent a property revaluation last year for the first time since 1986. As the township’s total property value leaped from $2.9 billion to $7.5 billion, its tax rate was sliced by more than half. Lakewood’s new rate is $1.559 per $100 of assessed property value, down from last year’s rate of $3.549.

While many longtime residents saw big spikes on their tax bills, other newer arrivals got some relief. Larry Simons, who lives in one of Lakewood’s age-restricted communities, says the revaluation is about equity and evening out the tax burden.

“I feel sympathy for the seniors on fixed incomes living hand to mouth. I feel pity for them. But me and a whole batch of other people have been paying the difference for a lot of years,” Simons said.

Simons will see a $1,200 drop in his annual property tax bill.

In the meantime, some 1,800 Lakewood property owners, or about one in every 10 residential property owners, appealed their new assessments to the Ocean County Board of Taxation. Judgments in those cases were handed down the last week of June.

Simons, a retired accountant and well-known government watchdog in town, has investigated those judgments. Although he’s uncertain of the number of successful appeals, about $42 million worth of property value reductions have been ordered, Simons said.

Officials from the tax assessor’s office in Lakewood were unavailable for comment late last week.

“They’re swamped with appeals,” Simons said.

Residents who weren’t satisfied with the rulings at the county level can continue the appeal fight in state tax court.

Situations of fixed income seniors struggling to make ends meet shines a light on the need for statewide reform, said Lakewood Mayor Meir Lichtenstein.

“It speaks to how broken the property tax system is. It puts us in a horrible spot. There needs to be another way,” he said

Aufiero says he wants to die in the same home his father, Frank, died in more than 30 years ago. A neighbor, Aufiero said, recently offered him $350,000 for his cramped house. He’s thought about accepting the offer and moving to a home for veterans. Now, because of the Senior Freeze, Aufiero is feeling hopeful about staying.

“I don’t want to go,” he said. “I live here. I don’t want to move till I die.”

On a recent morning, Aufiero reminisced about the old days. He recalled when he was a boy and helped out at his dad’s Second Street hat and boot cleaning shop. He also recalled starting his own blacktop business in 1951. He remembers ending it in 1971, when his leg was smashed up in a car accident. After the accident, Aufiero hobbled around town cutting grass to make money.

“I have so many memories,” he said.

Aufiero uses a walker to get around now.

“If it wasn’t for my damn legs, I’d be all right,” Aufiero said.

APP