By PETE WALTON
Tinton Falls is getting larger.
A small section of the former Fort Monmouth property is being transferred to the borough by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority.
The Borough Council this week introduced an ordinance accepting a portion of Pine Brook Road and the adjacent right-of-way. The total amount of land involved is approximately 0.68 acres. Currently, Tinton Falls has a land area of 15.49 acres, the 11th largest of the 53 municipalities in Monmouth County.
Also introduced this week was an ordinance establishing a policy regarding tax breaks for totally disabled veterans. State law allows persons certified by the Veterans Administration as 100 percent disabled because of their service to be exempted from local property taxes.
Noting that “if a policy of unlimited refunds was in place, the potential liability from a single qualified disabled veteran seeking a retroactively applied refund could affect the entire borough’s tax rate by a point,” the council voted to grant exemptions from the date on which a qualified veteran filed an application.
“It is only fair to provide exemptions from property taxes for qualified disabled veterans from the time of application as refunds made for taxes paid before that time can disproportionately affect other taxpayers as the municipality only receives approximately 20 percent of a resident’s tax bill,” the resolution states.
When refunds are issued, the borough pays back amounts which were conveyed to Monmouth County and school districts, but state law makes no provision for those entities to reimburse Tinton Falls.
