Court Opinion

ID: 9900275
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-18 22:08:29.613994+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:21:03.386130
License: Public Domain

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL
                     OF THE TAX COURT COMMITTEE ON OPINIONS

--------------------------------------------------------x
BLOOMINGDALE’S, INC. and                                :       TAX COURT OF NEW JERSEY
BLOOMINGDALE’S C/O FEDERATED                            :       DOCKET NOS.: 006396-2016
DEPARTMENT STORES, INC.,                                :       007619-2016, 004282-2017
                                                        :       006959-2018, 003279-2019
                                                        :       004117-2020
                  Plaintiff,                            :
                                                        :            Civil Action
v.                                                      :
                                                        :

                                                                  I                             I
                                                                     Approved for Publication
HACKENSACK CITY,                                        :
                                                                        In the New Jersey
                                                        :              Tax Court Reports
                  Defendant.                            :
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                 Decided: August 8, 2022 1 Publication date: September 28, 2022

                 Gregory S. Schaffer and Adam R. Jones for plaintiff (Garippa, Lotz &
                 Giannuario, P.C., attorneys).

                 Kenneth A. Porro for defendant (Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo, P.C.,
                 attorneys).

NOVIN, J.T.C.

        This shall constitute the court’s opinion following phase one of trial in the above-

referenced local property tax appeals. Bloomingdale’s, Inc. and Bloomingdale’s c/o Federated

Department Stores, Inc. (collectively “Bloomingdale’s”) challenge the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019,

and 2020 tax year assessments on its improved property located in Hackensack, New Jersey. At

issue in phase one of trial is whether the subject property’s 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 local

property tax assessments are entitled to a presumption of validity. 2

1
  This opinion was issued by the court as an unpublished opinion on August 8, 2022. It was
subsequently approved for publication on September 22, 2022. Minor editorial changes have been
made to the original opinion.
2
   At trial, Bloomingdale’s counsel informed the court that in addition to issues of property
valuation and discrimination, it contended that no presumption of validity should attach to the
                                                            1
       For the reasons stated more fully below, the court concludes that the subject property’s

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years local property tax assessments represent the valid

exercise of governmental authority and, therefore, must be accorded a presumption of validity.

       I.    Procedural History and Factual Findings

       Pursuant to R. 1:7-4, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law

based on the evidence and testimony adduced during trial. 3

       As of the valuation dates, Bloomingdale’s was the owner of the real property and

improvements on State Highway Route 4, Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey (the “subject

property”). The subject property is identified on Hackensack’s (“Hackensack”) municipal tax map

as block 504.02, lot 12.01. The subject property comprises the Bloomingdale’s retail store at the

Shops at Riverside, a regional shopping mall in Hackensack.

       As of each valuation date, the subject property’s tax assessment is set forth below:

                                   Valuation          Tax
                                      date        assessment
                                   10/1/2015     $41,221,500
                                   10/1/2016     $47,969,600
                                   10/1/2017     $51,098,000
                                   10/1/2018     $70,000,000
                                   10/1/2019     $70,000,000

       During phase one of trial, testimony was elicited from Arthur Carlson, Jr., Hackensack’s

subject property’s (as defined herein) tax assessments under Hackensack’s (as defined herein)
annual reassessment program. Bloomingdale’s argued that because Hackensack was ineligible to
conduct an annual reassessment program, all tax assessments determined in accordance therewith
were invalid, arbitrary, and flawed. After conferencing the matter with Bloomingdale’s counsel
and Hackensack’s counsel, the court bifurcated the trial, under R. 4:38-2(a). The court concluded
that it would first determine whether a presumption of validity would attach to the subject
property’s tax assessments. Thereafter, the court would address matters involving the subject
property’s valuation and discrimination claims.
3
   Hackensack requested the court conduct an inspection of the subject property. The court
declined Hackensack’s request and placed a statement of reasons on the record.
                                                2
municipal tax assessor, and Ernest F. “Rick” DelGuercio, Jr., former President of Appraisal

Systems, Inc. (“ASI”), the company charged with conducting Hackensack’s full or district-wide

reassessment program for the 2016 tax year, and annual reassessment program for the 2017, 2018,

2019, and 2020 tax years.

       II.   Conclusions of Law

       In New Jersey, all “[p]roperty shall be assessed for taxation under general laws and by

uniform rules. All real property assessed and taxed locally . . . shall be assessed according to the

same standard of value. . . .” N.J. Const. art. VIII, § 1, ¶ 1(a). That “tenet has been a construct of

the New Jersey Constitution since 1844.” City of Elizabeth v. 264 First St., LLC, 28 N.J. Tax 408,

425 (Tax 2015) (citing N.J. State League of Municipalities v. Kimmelman, 105 N.J. 422, 428

(1987)). Our Supreme Court has interpreted said provision as affording taxpayers a right to

“[e]quality of treatment in sharing the duty to pay real estate taxes.” Murnick v. Asbury Park, 95

N.J. 452, 458 (1984). In sum, taxpayers must be treated in a manner commensurate with “other

similarly-situated taxpayers.” Regent Care Ctr., Inc. v. Hackensack City, 362 N.J. Super. 403, 412

(App. Div. 2003).

       Echoing those constitutional principles, our statutes require that “[a]ll real property subject

to assessment and taxation . . . shall be assessed according to the same standard of value. . . .”

N.J.S.A. 54:4-2.25. Moreover “[a]ll property . . . within the jurisdiction of this State . . . shall be

subject to taxation annually under this chapter. Such property shall be valued and assessed at the

taxable value prescribed by law.” N.J.S.A. 54:4-1. Against that backdrop, a municipal tax assessor

is charged with the duty of “determin[ing] the full and fair value of each parcel of real property

situate in the taxing district at such price as, in his judgment, it would sell for at a fair and bona

fide sale. . . .” N.J.S.A. 54:4-23. Nonetheless, a tax assessor’s “fulfillment of the statutory

                                                  3
obligation cannot, of course, conflict with constitutional limitations.” Regent Care Ctr., Inc., 362

N.J. Super. at 415; see e.g. Twp. of West Milford v. Van Decker, 120 N.J. 354, 362 (1990)

(concluding that “arbitrary intentional discrimination . . . is unconstitutional”). Rather, tax

assessors bear “a statutory obligation to monitor all available indicia of property value and

to correct inequities in tax years other than years of district-wide revaluations” or district-wide

reassessments. Schwam v. Cedar Grove Twp., 228 N.J. Super. 522, 528 (App. Div. 1988). As

expressed by our Appellate Division, the “means best designed to meet” the dictates of the

Uniformity Clause would necessitate district-wide revaluations or reassessments each and every

year; however, such an approach is “simply not feasible.” Regent Care Ctr., Inc., 362 N.J. Super.

at 415 (citing Bergen Cty. Bd. of Taxation v. Borough of Bogota, 104 N.J. Super. 499, 507 (Law

Div. 1969), aff’d. o.b., 114 N.J. Super. 140 (App. Div. 1971)).

       Thus, absent implementation of a district-wide revaluation or district-wide reassessment,

when a municipal tax assessor has a reasonable basis to believe that “property comprising all or

part of a taxing district has been assessed at a value lower or higher than is consistent with the

purpose of securing uniform taxable valuation . . . the assessor shall, . . . make a reassessment of

the property in the taxing district that is not in substantial compliance” with the law. N.J.S.A.

54:4-23. It is unreasonable to expect “[a]ssessors . . . to do nothing in years between district-wide

revaluations or [district-wide] reassessments. Their role is not that of a caretaker.” Regent Care

Ctr., Inc., 362 N.J. Super. at 416.

       A.    District-wide or Full Reassessment Program, N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c)

       Although several mechanisms are available for taxing districts and their municipal tax

assessors to achieve equality amongst taxpayers in sharing the burden to pay real estate taxes, one

of those tools is a district-wide or full reassessment of all property in the taxing district. As

                                                 4
concisely summarized by Judge Lasser,

              a [district-wide] reassessment is an important change in assessment
              practice in a taxing district, other than a revaluation, which results
              in a significant difference in the aggregate assessed valuation of that
              taxing district from one year to a following year, other than that
              caused by inclusion of added assessments or other new construction,
              and, further, which results in a variance in values from one year to a
              following year in a substantial number of individual parcels of real
              property in that same taxing district. Like a revaluation program, a
              proper [district-wide] reassessment program seeks to spread the tax
              burden equitably throughout a taxing district.

              [Ennis v. Alexandria Twp. (Hunterdon Cty.), 13 N.J. Tax 423, 426-
              27 (Tax 1993) (citing New Jersey Div. of Taxation, Handbook for
              New Jersey Assessors, §801.13 (3d ed. 1989)).]

       The equality sought to be achieved by performing a district-wide or full reassessment

program stems from making “adjustments to 100 percent of the line items,” conducting an

inspection of “the exterior of all properties in a municipality,” and attempting to conduct an

inspection of “[t]he interior of all properties” in a municipality prior to imposing the revised

assessments. N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c)(3).

       However, before proceeding with a district-wide or full reassessment program,

              [a]n assessor . . . shall submit an application to perform the
              reassessment with the county board of taxation and the Director of
              the Division of Taxation.

              1. The application for district-wide reassessment shall be completed
              on Form AFR (Application for Full Reassessment) as prescribed by
              the Director of the Division of Taxation.
              2. Prior to filing Form AFR, an assessor must notify, in writing, the
              mayor and local governing body, the county board of taxation, and
              the county tax administrator of the basis for the assessor’s
              determination that the proposed reassessment is needed.
              ...
              4. The county board of taxation shall review the application and
              within 45 days of its submission, forward a copy to the Director of
              the Division of Taxation and the assessor with a notation of approval

                                                5
               or disapproval. In the case of a disapproval, the Director and the
               assessor shall be advised of the reason.
               5. Within 45 days of receipt of the application from the assessor, the
               Director shall advise the county tax administrator and assessor of his
               or her determination as to whether the assessor may proceed with
               the reassessment program. In the case of disapproval, the Director
               shall specify the reason for his or her determination.

               [N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c).]

       Here, the record reveals that for the 2016 tax year, Hackensack implemented a district-

wide or full reassessment program. First, Mr. Carlson notified, in writing, Hackensack’s mayor

and local governing body of “my suggestion that this [district-wide reassessment] program should

be undertaken.” Hackensack’s mayor and governing body apparently then adopted a resolution

to begin the district-wide or full reassessment program, retaining ASI to carry it out. On or about

May 29, 2015, Mr. Carlson signed an Application for Full Reassessment Program, Form AFR,

and submitted it to the Bergen County Board of Taxation and the Director, New Jersey Division

of Taxation (the “Director”). The Form AFR certified that: (i) inspections of the interior and

exterior of all improvements within Hackensack will be performed; (ii) the Real Property

Appraisal Manual for New Jersey Assessors will be used to develop appropriate depreciated

replacement costs for all residential improvements as of October 1 of the pretax year; (iii) all land

assessments will be updated; (iv) all exempt property tax assessments will be updated; (v) all

property sales occurring within the past three years will be analyzed; (vi) all applicable approaches

to value will be employed and reconciled; and (vii) that “the valuation updating process will be

performed by individual(s) other than the assessor and his or her municipal staff.”

       On or about June 10, 2015, the Bergen County Board of Taxation’s Administrator

approved, and on or about June 26, 2015, the Director approved Hackensack’s Form AFR,

Application for Full Reassessment Program.

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        Accordingly, based on the record and testimony presented, the court is satisfied that

Hackensack adhered to the conditions precedent necessary to implement a district-wide or full

reassessment program for the 2016 tax year.

        In addition, the court finds, based on the testimony and evidence adduced during phase one

of trial that Hackensack adhered to the requirements under Form AFR and N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14

(the “Regulations”) in conducting the 2016 district-wide or full reassessment program.

Specifically, Form AFR requires that “a taxpayer orientation program . . . be conducted to

generally describe the reassessment program and its purpose.” Form AFR further demands that a

“notice . . . be sent to all taxpayers to inform them of their proposed assessed value. . . .” Moreover,

subsections (d) and (e) of the Regulations demand that following approval by the Director of a

district-wide or full reassessment program,

               (d) [t]he assessor . . . submit a plan of work to the county tax
               administrator within 30 days of such approval. Thereafter, a report
               on the status of the revaluation or reassessment shall be filed with
               the county tax administrator every 30 days until the program has
               been completed and the tax list has been filed with the county board
               of taxation.

                (e) The plan of work and revaluation progress report shall be
                completed on Form POW/RSR (Plans of Work/Revaluation Status
                Report) as prescribed by the Director. . . .

                [N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(d) and (e).]

        Following approval of the district-wide or full reassessment program, Hackensack and ASI

sent out booklets and letters to all taxpayers notifying them about implementation of the program

and informing them that inspections would be conducted. Admittedly, Mr. Carlson stated that his

memory was “jumbled up.” However, he recalled attending a public meeting that he believed was

the taxpayer orientation program and sat on a dais, answering questions about the district-wide or

full reassessment program.

                                                   7
       Mr. DelGuercio’s testimony cemented Mr. Carlson’s recollection, stating that in 2015 ASI

conducted at least one public orientation program. According to Mr. DelGuercio, “we might have

had several, but I can’t confirm . . . but I know -- it’s standard procedure for all the reassessments

and reval[uation]s that I do.”

       Moreover, information about Hackensack’s district-wide or full reassessment program was

contained on ASI’s website. 4 According to Mr. DelGuercio, ASI’s website,

               offers . . . a tool where it’s interactive where appointments can be
               made, discussions can be had, information can be exchanged as well
               as the viewing of essential reassessment reports and tools such as
               neighborhood delineations, assessments. There’s a tax implication
               tool and feature to it. There’s a lot of good information.

       Mr. DelGuercio further testified that ASI prepared a computerized inspection log sheet for

the 2016 tax year detailing the approximately “10,217 line items” in Hackensack to be inspected.

According to Mr. DelGuercio, the designation of an “x” next to a street address on the inspection

log sheet meant “an attempt was made [to inspect the interior] but it means that we did not get

inside, and we most likely had to estimate the interior, which is the process.” According to Mr.

DelGuercio, ASI was granted access to conduct interior inspections of approximately 7,359 line

items for the 2016 tax year.

       During the district-wide or full reassessment program, monthly meetings were conducted

by the Bergen County Board of Taxation to oversee the progress of the program. ASI would

generate monthly plans of work reports and furnish them to Mr. Carlson, who would provide them

to the Bergen County Board of Taxation, identifying the number of properties inspected.

4
   Hackensack’s website apparently contained a hyperlink to ASI’s website. According to Mr.
DelGuercio, “there’s a link on the City[’s website] which if you go on the -- at that point in time,
I don’t know if it’s still there, but in that point in time if you went on the City[’s] website you
could find directions to our website.”
                                                  8
According to Mr. DelGuercio,

               the Bergen County Board of Taxation requires the assessor to submit
               a progress report, a monthly progress report, and it’s discussed at
               their monthly tax board meetings. We did that and if there are any
               questions about our progress by the actual authority that supervises
               the assessor, it’s brought up at that time. The tax board meets every
               month, I think, with the exception of August. I’m not sure if they
               meet in August but they meet 11 times a year.

       According to Mr. Carlson, he was responsible for overseeing the reassessment program;

however, the day-to-day operations, including gathering property information, analyzing market

data, identifying the properties to be inspected, conducting the interior and exterior inspections,

and “formulat[ing] the [preliminary] numbers” rested with ASI. Mr. Carlson testified that,

               I sit and I meet with the representatives. We go through the deals.
               They give me these spreadsheets . . . usually they’re preliminary,
               then the ultimate values to go through, the assessed valuations to
               double check them with the representatives at ASI. I do that usually
               on a monthly meeting with them . . . We sit down and go through
               the list before I finalize them and if anything stands out, we try to,
               we try to correct it. If it’s too low, we raise it. If it’s too high, we
               lower it . . . that’s my role, but of course . . . it’s in conjunction with
               my experts too . . . like I said, I’m responsible. I’m the final arbiter.
               I make the final decision but in conjunction with my expert[s].

       Mr. Carlson further reinforced that “I’m the decision guy . . . if I feel [the assessed value

is] too high, I’ll lower it. If I feel [the assessed value is] too low, I’ll say, why is this low. Why

are we here or, they’ll [ASI] take the initiative and say this assessment’s too low.”

       Finally, in Mr. DelGuercio’s estimation,

               around [the] end of November, early December [2015] after the
               assessor has reviewed and signed off on all of the preliminary
               values, my office [ASI] sends out another mailer which informs the
               public of the preliminary -- the new preliminary assessment and
               what steps to take next. Typically, you can either go on our website
               and obtain information as to how this value was arrived at or we do
               still hold one-on-one and in-person meetings with any and all
               taxpayers who have questions, you know, about what we did. And
               a lot of times re-inspections are done, more information is obtained

                                                   9
                and exchanged and then, ultimately, when that final review process
                takes place and the assessor is satisfied again with the values, at that
                time it gets submitted to the Bergen County Board of Taxation for
                the final tax list.

        Bloomingdale’s offered no fact or expert witness testimony contradicting or refuting the

testimony of Mr. Carlson or Mr. DelGuercio. In addition, Bloomingdale’s offered no evidence

that for the 2016 tax year: (i) exterior inspections were not conducted on all properties; (ii) interior

inspections were not attempted on all properties; (iii) 100% of Hackensack’s line items were not

revised; (iv) inclusion of Hackensack on the Director’s “2016 Approved Revaluation and

Reassessments” list was in error; 5 (iv) following the district-wide or full reassessment program,

Hackensack had segmented or general coefficients of deviation for the 2016 tax year exceeding

15%; or (v) that Hackensack’s district-wide or full reassessment program did not result in a

material change in aggregate assessed valuations for the 2016 tax year. 6

        Accordingly, based on the trial record and testimony of Mr. Carlson and Mr. DelGuercio,

the court is satisfied that Hackensack conducted a district-wide or full reassessment program for

the 2016 tax year in accordance with the requirements under law, Form AFR, and N.J.A.C.

18:12A-1.14(c).

        B.    Annual Reassessment Program, N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i)

        In 2013, our Legislature enacted the Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program,

5
           2016           Approved            Revaluations           and          Reassessments,
www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/revaluation/2016RevalList.pdf (last visited July 25,
2022).
6
  “[T]he coefficients of deviation used by the Board to assess . . . tax inequality were general,
which measure deviation without regard to property class, property size, or any other property
characteristic. The language of N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(b), however, does not limit the 15%
acceptable deviation standard to any particular type of deviation, whether segmented or general.”
Essex Cty. Bd. of Taxation v. W. Caldwell Twp., 21 N.J. Tax 188, 196 (App. Div. 2003) (emphasis
added).
                                                  10
N.J.S.A. 54:1-101 to -106 (the “RPADP”). A primary goal of the RPADP was to make use of

available technology, creating a “collaborative system” of property assessment between county

boards of taxation and municipal assessors, “result[ing] in a cost-effective and accurate process of

real property assessment to benefit real property owners and property taxpayers.” N.J.S.A. 54:1-

102.

       The sponsor and committee statements accompanying the RPADP legislation emphasized

that “all future evaluations and reassessments of real property by municipalities in a demonstration

county will be performed on the county system, and the system will also be used for other

assessment-based functions, such as the development of a compliance plan, maintenance of

assessments, and the calculation of added assessments.” Sponsor’s Statement to S. 1213 19

(January 23, 2012); Assembly Appropriations Committee Statement to S. 1213 1 (December 13,

2012) (emphasis added). “The bill[s] [further] require[] the county board of taxation of each

demonstration county to compel the implementation of a revaluation or reassessment of real

property.” Sponsor’s Statement to S. 1213 20; Assembly Appropriations Committee Statement to

S. 1213 2-3 (emphasis added).

       In August 2016, following enactment of the RPADP, the Director promulgated proposed

changes to the Regulations, crafting a “[n]ew subsection (i) [under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14] . . .

proposed for the purposes of equity and reducing costs because of the changes affecting only

certain counties under [the RPADP] N.J.S.A. 54:1-101.” 48 N.J.R. 1605(a) (emphasis added).

       In two published opinions, this court has analyzed the similarities and differences between

a full or district-wide reassessment program, under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c), and an annual

reassessment program, under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i), and their impact with respect to application

of N.J.S.A. 54:51A-8 (the “Freeze Act”).

                                                11
       In Tartivita v. Borough of Union Beach, 31 N.J. Tax 335 (Tax 2019), aff’d, 2021 N.J.

Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1022 (App. Div. 2021) (approved for publication in the N.J. Tax Reports),

the Monmouth County Board of Taxation issued a judgment reducing the assessment on the

taxpayer’s home for the 2017 tax year. Id. at 339. The taxpayer argued that she was also entitled

to relief under the Freeze Act for the 2018 tax year. In response, the taxing district maintained that

it implemented an annual reassessment program, under the RPADP and N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i),

involving all property in the taxing district; therefore, the Freeze Act relief was inapplicable. After

analyzing and scrutinizing the language and intent of the RPADP, Judge Sundar concluded that:

               The [RP]ADP law does not support the proposition that the annual
               assessments performed under the aegis of the [RP]ADP law are a
               ‘complete reassessment’ under the Freeze Act, or a ‘district-wide’
               reassessment under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c).

               [Id. at 343.]

       The court further observed that a “complete” or “district-wide reassessment,” as

contemplated under the Freeze Act, “’results in a significant difference in the aggregate assessed

valuation of that taxing district from one year to a following year, other than that caused by

inclusion of added assessments or other new construction’” and “’results in a variance in values

from one year to a following year in a substantial number of individual parcels of real property in

that same taxing district.’” Id. at 359 (quoting Ennis, 13 N.J. Tax at 426-27).

       After evaluating the evidence presented, the court found the net change in the taxing

district’s aggregate assessed valuations following the annual reassessment program was 4.9%,

which it found, “is not a ‘significant difference in the aggregate assessed valuation of that taxing

district from one year to a following year.’” Ibid. Rather, the court reasoned that in undertaking

the annual reassessment program, the municipal tax assessor was “annually performing what [he]

is obligated to be annually performed under N.J.S.A. 54:4-23, which therefore should result in

                                                  12
minimal changes from one year to the next with a non-significant number of properties being

over/under assessed.” Id. at 362. In sum, the court concluded that “[N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14]

[s]ubsection (i) does not apply to district-wide reassessments” and that an “annual reassessment is

not the same as the regulatory district-wide [or full] reassessment. . . .” Id. at 365.

         In affirming Judge Sundar’s decision, the Appellate Division observed that the trial record

did not support the municipality’s “contention that its [RP]ADP [annual] reassessment constituted

a complete [district-wide] reassessment. . . .” Tartivita, 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1022, *2

(App. Div. 2021) (approved for publication in the N.J. Tax Reports). The court emphasized that

under the RPADP annual reassessment program,

                only twenty percent of the total line items (properties) were
                thoroughly inspected by the tax assessor, and of the total line items,
                many had a less than one percent tax assessment change, either
                positively or negatively. This is not ‘a significant difference in the
                aggregate assessed valuation of that taxing district from one year to
                a following year, other than that caused by inclusion of added
                assessments or other new construction,’ to qualify as a complete
                assessment to circumvent the Freeze Act and to increase the
                property's tax assessment for the 2018 tax year.

                [Ibid. (quoting Ennis, 13 N.J. Tax at 426-27).]

         In Pella Realty, LLC v. Paterson City, 31 N.J. Tax 474 (Tax 2020), the court entered

judgments reducing the taxpayer’s 2017 local property tax assessments. Thereafter, the taxpayer

moved for Freeze Act protection for the 2018 tax year. In response, the taxing district argued that

the taxpayer was not entitled to Freeze Act protection because it was conducting an “on-going

annual reassessment program,” under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i), for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax

years.

         For substantially the same reasons expressed in Tartivita, the court found that

“implementation of an annual reassessment program [under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i)] will not

                                                  13
serve to bar application of the Freeze Act.” Id. at 499. Importantly, the court observed that “’[i]n

offering the new proposed regulation [N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i)] for public comment, the Director

explained that ‘[n]ew subsection (i) is proposed for the purposes of equity and reducing costs

because of the changes affecting only certain counties under [the RPADP] N.J.S.A. 54:1-101.” Id.

at 490-491 (citing 48 N.J.R. 1605(a)). The court further discerned that N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i)

“represented a departure from the district-wide [or full] reassessments that had existed since 1979

under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(c).” Id. at 491.

       After reviewing the Director’s responses to the public comments to N.J.A.C. 18:12A-

1.14(i), the court concluded that an annual reassessment program “was something unlike and

different from a district-wide reassessment, and the terms should not be used synonymously.” Id.

at 491-92. The court concluded that “the Regulations conceiving of Annual Reassessment

Programs under ‘[n]ew subsection (i)’ were drafted to directly respond to and address the newly

created requirements under the RPADP and to serve as a cost savings vehicle for those counties

and taxing districts participating under the RPADP.” Id. at 493.

       Based on the court’s plain reading of 48 N.J.R. 1605(a), the Regulations, and the Director’s

responses to public comments, the court found that the annual reassessment program memorialized

under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i), was designed for and “derived . . . under the RPADP.” Id. at 494.

Thus, the court reasoned that annual reassessment programs, under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i), were

“not intended to apply to every county and taxing district statewide; rather, they were applicable

only to those ‘demonstration count[ies]’ participating under the RPADP.” Id. at 494-95. However,

because the taxing district was not located within an RPADP demonstration county, the court

found that the taxing district’s adoption and implementation of an annual reassessment program

                                                14
was inappropriate. 7

       Here, in Mr. Carlson’s opinion, the goal of implementing what he termed as a “rolling”

annual reassessment program for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years was to avoid the tax

appeals “just piling up year after year” and “alleviate the tax refunds.” It afforded him “flexibility,

that’s the main goal . . . in real time to make the changes based on the current conditions of the

market.” According to Mr. Carlson, Hackensack implemented a “four year[] [annual reassessment

program] this time -- we want to do four years. The reason is . . . I think, one of the main reasons

is because it’s cheaper to do -- to do, like, to do it over multiple years because they [ASI] get paid

every year.”

       It is uncontested that for each of the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years, Mr. Carlson

signed and submitted a Form AFR-A, Application for Annual Reassessment Program to the

Bergen County Board of Taxation and the Director. 8 Each Form AFR-A explicitly recited that

Hackensack’s last “100% [district-wide] reassessment was implemented [in] 2016.” 9 Moreover,

it is undisputed that despite not being designated a demonstration county participating under the

RPADP, the Bergen County Board of Taxation, and the Director, approved Hackensack’s

7
   The court did not reach a conclusion on whether the taxing district’s annual reassessment
program met the parameters of a district-wide or full reassessment program. Rather, the court set
the matter down for a plenary hearing to decide that issue.
8
  For the 2017 tax year, Form AFR-A was signed by Mr. Carlson on April 15, 2016, approved by
the Bergen County Board of Taxation Administrator on April 13, 2016, and approved by the
Director on May 5, 2016. However, for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years, only copies of the
Form AFR-A, signed by Mr. Carlson respectively on April 1, 2017, April 1, 2018, and February
27, 2019, were offered into evidence. Copies of Form AFR-A, approved by the Bergen County
Board of Taxation and Director, for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years were not offered into
evidence.
9
   It is undisputed that Bergen County was not a demonstration county participating under the
RPADP for the 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020 tax years. Therefore, Hackensack was not eligible to
conduct an annual reassessment program under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i) for the 2017, 2018, 2019,
and 2020 tax years.
                                                  15
application for an annual reassessment program for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years.

       Accordingly, applying the holding reached in Pella Realty, LLC to the instant matter,

Hackensack was not eligible to conduct an annual reassessment program for the 2017, 2018, 2019,

and 2020 tax years, under N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14(i). 10 Thus, Bloomingdale’s charges that due to

such ineligibility, no presumption of validity should attach to the subject property’s 2017, 2018,

2019, and 2020 local property tax assessments.

       However, the court finds that whether Hackensack was, or was not, authorized to embark

on an annual reassessment program is not singly decisive on the issue of whether a presumption

of validity should attach to the local property tax assessments in these matters. Despite the

nomenclature or title that may be assigned the task or program of annually evaluating all

improvements or line items on a taxing district’s tax roll, Hackensack’s assessor nonetheless bore

a constitutional and statutory duty to annually ensure that all property within the taxing district

was assessed at a value “consistent with the purpose of securing uniform taxable valuation of

property according to law for the purpose of taxation. . . .” N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.

10
     In Mr. DelGuercio’s opinion, Hackensack’s annual reassessment program, under N.J.A.C.
18:12A-1.14(i), should be viewed as a full or district-wide reassessment program under N.J.A.C.
18:12A-1.14(c). According to Mr. DelGuercio, “[w]e’ve learned now that the State no longer
wants us to fill out that form [AFR-A]. They want us to fill out the AFR form because the
confusion was that we were applying for a full reassessment. We did complete and did all the
work for a full reassessment in 2017 but now this is the form they wanted us to put it on at that
point in time so we put it on that. And, unfortunately -- not unfortunately, but I no longer fill out
those forms [AFR-A] for these reassessment programs . . . What we’re doing now is, if you
remember the AFR form or the first two statements -- first one speaks to exterior [inspection] and
there’s two boxes you can check, agree or disagree. The second one is the interior inspections and
there’s two boxes you can check, agree or disagree. What we’re doing now is we’re checking the
first statement agree and then the second statement where it speaks to the attempt for interior,
we’re checking disagree and we’re including an addendum which says we’re not going to knock
on -- we’re not going to attempt to get into 100% because we just did this the year before, we got
into “x” amount, in some cases three, four, six months earlier, and so they can either accept that
or they can tell us we’re not going to approve it -- you have to do -- at that point, I let them dictate
what they’re requirement is.”
                                                  16
        Thus, if the court finds that for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years Hackensack’s

municipal tax assessor, with the assistance of ASI, relied on available market data and employed

reasonable methodologies in carrying out his constitutional and statutory duties, under N.J.S.A.

54:4-23, then the presumption of validity will attach to the subject property’s tax assessments.

Conversely, if the court finds that Hackensack’s assessor arrived at the subject property’s tax

assessments for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years employing an arbitrary, capricious, or

inherently flawed process, then the presumption of validity will not attach.

        Accordingly, the court must examine and scrutinize the reasonableness of the data and

methodology employed by the assessor in determining each year’s local property tax assessments.

As stated by our Supreme Court, such evaluation should

                   focus solely on whether the valuation could reasonably have been
                   arrived at in light of the data available to the assessor at the time of
                   the valuation. Encompassed within this inquiry are (1) the
                   reasonableness of the underlying data used by the assessor, and (2)
                   the reasonableness of the methodology used by the assessor in
                   arriving at the valuation.

                   [Ocean Pines, Ltd. v. Borough of Point Pleasant, 112 N.J. 1, 11
                   (1988).]

        C.    Presumption of validity

        In addressing local property tax grievances, our courts have adhered to a longstanding

principle that a

                   presumption [exists] in favor of the correctness of the estimation
                   made by the assessor, the sworn officer, and before a tax can be
                   disturbed on the ground alleged, the burden is put upon the objector
                   to show by his proofs a clear error in such estimation. When the
                   testimony does not decidedly bear against the correctness of the
                   assessor's action, the court cannot disturb it.

                   [State v. Hawkens, 50 N.J.L. 122, 125 (1887).]

See also L. Bamberger & Co. v. Div. of Tax Appeals, 1 N.J. 151, 159 (1948); Riverview Gardens,

                                                     17
Section One, Inc. v. Borough of N. Arlington, 9 N.J. 167, 175 (1952); Aetna Life Ins. Co. v.

Newark City, 10 N.J. 99, 104-05 (1952); Rodwood Gardens, Inc. v. Summit City, 188 N.J. Super.

34, 38 (App. Div. 1982).

       As explained by the court in City of Elizabeth v. 264 First St., LLC, the rationale

underpinning this core principle is that government action should be presumed valid,

               the public [has an] expectation that a municipal tax assessor will act
               scrupulously, correctly, efficiently and honestly in complying with
               statutory provisions and adhering to standards of fairness when
               making assessments. Our Supreme Court has demanded that
               ‘government officials act solely in the public interest. In dealing
               with the public, government must ‘turn square corners’. . . [i]t may
               not conduct itself so as to achieve or preserve any kind of bargaining
               or litigational advantage over the property owner. Its primary
               obligation is to comport itself with compunction and integrity. . .’

               the ‘[p]roper administration of our tax laws and the successful
               implementation of statutes [are] designed to . . . demand consistency
               and fairness from municipal officers in their dealings with property
               owners.’ Legislative goals could be undermined if a municipality
               was permitted to exercise its duties inconsistent with the concepts of
               fundamental fairness. Taxpayers have a right to expect the
               municipal assessor to comply with statutory provisions and adhere
               to standards of fairness when making assessments. A taxing district
               ‘does not stand in the same shoes as an ordinary citizen [and] the
               municipality and the aggrieved taxpayer are not to be analogized to
               private litigants competing through the judicial machinery for a
               tactical advantage.’

               [28 N.J. Tax at 448-49 (citations omitted).]

       In carrying out those goals, a municipal tax assessor is charged with the annual duty of

reviewing and adjusting local property tax assessments. N.J.S.A. 54:4-23 provides, in part, that

               after examination and inquiry, [the assessor shall] determine the full
               and fair value of each parcel of real property situate in the taxing
               district at such price as, in his judgment, it would sell for at a fair
               and bona fide sale by private contract on October 1 next preceding
               the date on which the assessor shall complete his assessments. . . .

               [N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.]

                                                 18
       The statute “neither requires nor excludes any specific formula for measuring fair value.”

Riverview Gardens, Section One, Inc., 9 N.J. at 175. The tax assessor’s duty to determine the full

and fair value of all property in the taxing district arises annually, and “[e]ach annual assessment

and . . . each annual valuation, of property for taxation constitutes a separate entity, distinct from

valuations and assessments of previous or subsequent years.” Rodwood Gardens, Inc., 188 N.J.

Super. at 38.

       Here, according to Mr. Carlson, for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years, ASI

“attempted 25% [interior inspections] each year . . . over a four-year period.” Mr. DelGuercio’s

testimony further confirmed that exterior inspections of 100% of Hackensack’s line items were

conducted each year and that 25% interior inspections were attempted each year during the 2017,

2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years. 11 According to Mr. DelGuercio,

                knowing that I have a contract for, say, four years, knowing that I
                have to accomplish 25% percent per year, meaning that at the end
                of the four years . . . everybody has an attempt at an interior at least
                once within that four-year period. What I do is I break out -- split
                the town into, say, four quadrants, right? But we do skip around
                because a lot of time we’re getting into these homes because added
                assessments are done. A lot of times we’re getting in through these
                homes because, you know, they’re current county or tax court
                appeals pending. A lot of times people call because they want us to

11
   Initially, Mr. DelGuercio testified that “[t]he attempt to physically do the interior aspect is made
on only 20% as opposed to 100% percent the year before [2016].” However, his later testimony
confirmed that interior inspections were attempted each year on 25% of Hackensack’s line items.
Mr. DelGuercio testimony revealed that interior inspections were attempted on: (i) 2,449 line items
for the 2017 tax year; (ii) 2,549 line items for the 2018 tax year; (iii) 3,180 line items for the 2019
tax year; and (iv) 3,204 line items for the 2020 tax year. Moreover, Mr. DelGuercio credibly
explained why there were discrepancies between ASI’s inspection logs and the Plans of Work
submitted to the Bergen County Board of Taxation. According to Mr. DelGuercio, ASI’s
inspection logs are “living documents” that “change[] daily based on . . . phone calls that come in
to do inspections, inspections that take place.” Conversely, the Plans of Work submitted to the
Bergen County Board of Taxation represented interior inspections performed as of a fixed date.
Thus, the court concludes that Mr. DelGuercio’s initial statements as to the percentage of interior
inspections attempted under Hackensack’s annual reassessment program were a misstatement.
                                                  19
               get in when we didn’t before. So, we do skip around and that’s why
               we kind of keep track of everything. By the end of the four-year
               period, everybody will have been attempted at least once. And I
               think that the relief is I think it’s a little too egregious to be
               demanding to get into the same home each and every year four years
               straight.

       Moreover, Mr. Carlson testified that under Hackensack’s annual reassessment program,

ASI bore responsibility to,

               formulate[] the values. They’re the contracted employee[s] . . . we
               pay them money to go out and inspect the properties and then after
               they inspect the properties the first time around they come up with
               25% inspections after that over the four-year period, . . . they come
               up with the values, . . . and they give [me] the spreadsheets, what
               they’ve come up with, the old assessment and then the new
               assessment, the type of property, the address, . . . the sale prices,
               they analyze the sale prices . . . So I’m on top of it, you know, and
               like I said we sit down. ASI is the one that formulates the numbers.
               They do the sales analysis, I don’t, and then I’ll double check [it].

       During his testimony, it became clear to the court that Mr. Carlson relied on ASI’s

appraisers and Hackensack’s appraiser, McNerney & Associates, Inc., to provide him with the

market data and analysis to determine the subject property’s 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax year

assessments. According to Mr. Carlson, ASI presents him with “a spreadsheet on the residential

. . . and the commercial properties. We go through them. We certainly go through the assessed

valuations, usually, you know, in a timely manner obviously before the final [tax assessment]

numbers are finalized.”

       Mr. Carlson explained that the spreadsheets contain, “an analysis and a listing. It’s a

courtesy [cursory] glance. It’s not as detailed, but it is an analysis. It has the square footage and

the percentages, and how much it is per square foot, and the sale prices and so forth.” According

to Mr. Carlson, the spreadsheet

               breaks it down to residential properties, condominium properties,
               commercial properties, 4A, 4B, 4C categories for the commercial

                                                 20
                properties. It gives me the block, the lot, name of the owner, the
                taxpayer, the address. It gives me the square footage. It gives me
                the price per square foot. It gives me sale price per square foot. It
                gives us the sale price. It gives me the assessment of the prior year
                and the following year. It gives me the percentage increase or
                decrease. It gives me the assessed valuation per unit basis, and it
                also gives me per square foot basis. It has notes that could be applied
                to it, you know, individual properties.

        Specifically, “on . . . a residential neighborhood or a condominium complex, it would give

you all the sales that occurred within the last year and a half, . . . so I could have some type of idea

what the market is, which direction or trend the market is going on the residential properties.”

         However, with respect to the commercial properties,

                [it] is segmented more . . . it would give me a range. It would give
                me . . . the block and lot, address, the square footage of the property.
                If there was a sale, how much it had sold for per unit, if there’s an
                apartment, if there was a sale, what the square footage per -- say if
                it was retail, how much -- what it sold for per square foot, and then
                it would give me the assessed valuation per square foot, so it would
                give an indicator of where we are as far as in coordination with the
                sale prices.

        Mr. Carlson further offered that after he is provided with the “spreadsheet. I go through

it with experts to go through it if it’s correct or not.” After being furnished with the annual

reassessment worksheets by ASI, Mr. Carlson testified that he,

                ask[s] questions. I ask questions. I ask is this the right value, and is
                this the right square footage, do you have the, you know, the right
                numbers, how come this one is a little bit higher than last year --
                how come this one is a little lower than last year. It’s not like I walk
                into the room and say, okay, whatever you guys give me, I’m fine
                with it. I do ask questions, and I ask the experts. You know, we all
                sit down with [Mr.] McNerney’s office and we go through them.

        In addition to being provided worksheets, Mr. Carlson testified that ASI provides him with

Marshall & Swift cost worksheets for each of the approximately 1,600 commercial properties.

Admittedly, Mr. Carlson offered,

                                                   21
                 [d]o I go into microscopic detail on every single one [commercial
                 property cost worksheet]? No, that’s why I have experts. That’s
                 why I have appraisals. That’s why I ask for an analysis to make sure
                 I get the numbers correct. If the numbers aren’t correct, I raise them.
                 If a mistake is made, I lower them.

        Moreover, although the Marshall & Swift cost worksheets in his files did not contain a

land value analysis, Mr. Carlson stated that,

                 yeah, there’s . . . an analysis . . . There’s an analysis of percentage
                 increase, or percentage decrease, or the sale price differentials.
                 There’s a range of like what an apartment -- how much a unit would
                 be, like for per unit value based on sale price. Yeah, there’s an
                 analysis done, but it’s done by ASI.

        Moreover, when a property was the subject of a local property tax appeal, Mr. Carlson

offered that,

                 [t]he discussion would be more elaborate. The discussion would be
                 more in detail if they were under appeal because . . . I want to get
                 the assessments correct. So, if the assessments too high or too low,
                 and under appeal especially, I want to know if I should hold the
                 assessment, should I raise the assessment -- what do you guys [ASI
                 and Mr. McNerney’s office] think. It’s an open-ended discussion
                 on all the commercial properties.

        Mr. Carlson further explained that “[Mr.] McNerney’s office is my expert where . . . I go

through the numbers with them also multiple times to make sure they’re correct . . . [for the]

commercial properties . . . we have a separate spreadsheet for the commercial properties and we

look at them.”

        The court found particularly telling, Mr. Carlson’s opinion that,

                 I have 1,600 [commercial] properties. If I had ten errors of 1,600
                 [commercial] properties year after year, I think that’s pretty good. I
                 mean, I’m not saying I’m perfect, but, again, the [Director’s sales]
                 ratio will bear me out. I’m at 93%, 94% with the county ratio . . .
                 Again, it’s mass appraising. We’re doing -- looking at numbers.
                 We’re looking at the evaluation each year separately.

        With respect to the subject property’s local property tax assessments, Mr. Carlson testified

                                                   22
that other than discussions with ASI’s appraisers, Mr. McNerney’s office’s appraisers,

spreadsheets prepared by ASI, the Marshall & Swift cost worksheets, and the appraisal reports

prepared by Mr. McNerney’s office, he did not rely on any other documents in determining the

subject property’s local property tax assessments during the tax years at issue.

       Specifically, with respect to the subject property’s 2016, 2017, and 2018 local property

tax assessments, Mr. Carlson testified that ASI determined that value, and he “reviewed it. I didn’t

change it. I reviewed it. Went through it.” Mr. Carlson expressed that ASI furnished him with

the subject property’s “Marshall & Swift [cost worksheet data for the] property record card.”

However, according to Mr. Carlson, the cost worksheets,

               will not match -- I don’t think it will match the [tax] assessment.
               Those three years [2016, 2017, and 2018] -- it looks like I went from
               the spreadsheet, the . . . numbers they [ASI] gave me for the first
               three years, [20]16, [20]17, and [20]18, that won’t match the [local
               property tax] assessment[s]. That’s [the cost worksheets are] higher
               than the assessment[s]. As a matter of fact, probably the assessment
               should have been raised sooner, but we missed it.

       According to Mr. Carlson, the subject property’s 2016, 2017, and 2018 tax year “assessed

valuation on the [ASI] spreadsheet was less, significantly less than the [Marshall & Swift] cost

approach [worksheets] that I had gotten from ASI.” Although Mr. Carlson recognized the

inconsistency between the ASI spreadsheet values and the Marshall & Swift cost worksheet

values, in his opinion, “the inconsistency is in favor of, . . . the taxpayer,” thus, he accepted the

lower assessed value

       Mr. Carlson testified that during each year that the subject property’s local property tax

assessment was adjusted upwards (2017, 2018, and 2019), he relied on market data, analysis, and

advice furnished by ASI and Mr. McNerney’s office. In his own words,

               I rel[ied] on my experts to give me advice on the malls and the
               anchors. I don’t have the detailed information as the assessor to go

                                                 23
               through microscopically every single mall or sale or transaction or
               the trends . . . the analysis was, you know, it was done for a purpose.
               It was to verify that the [assessment] numbers should be increased.

       During a meeting discussing the 2019 tax year assessments, Mr. Carlson stated that,

               when I sat down with McNerney’s office and ASI . . . we went
               through the commercial properties, the spreadsheets, and it came to
               our attention, actually it came from . . . [Mr.] McNerney’s office,
               they said that Bloomingdale’s is underassessed, it should be higher,
               and that’s what we talked about . . . and then I had an analysis done
               to make sure because before I raise something, especially if I raise
               something that’s, you know, going to be an impact, I like that
               analysis done. So I had McNerney’s office . . . [perform] an
               analysis, and they came in with a higher number than --
               Bloomingdale’s was I think at $41 million or $42 million the first
               year . . . [t]hen it moved up to $47 [million], then to $51 [million]
               over a three-year period, and then in [20]19 it was moved up to $70
               [million], even though McNerney’s office, the appraiser said it was
               worth between $77 to $80 million. I thought that was too high.
               Again, I used my judgment here and said that impact is too much,
               and I like to go a little light on commercial properties, so, you know,
               just in case they have an appeal, or just in case they run into some
               financial problems. I don’t like to hit people really, really hard, a
               hundred percent. I try to nuance it a bit. So I brought the assessment
               down to $70 million even though the numbers they [McNerney’s
               office] I believe were $77 and $80 million. Even the appraisals I
               think are at that number.

       Finally, Mr. Carlson stated that before he increased the subject property’s 2019 tax year

assessment he asked,

               [Mr.] McNerney’s office to do an analysis on this particular
               [subject] property . . . before I raised [it] in [20]19 because it was --
               it went from a, you know, $47 to $50 million to $70 million
               [assessment]. They came in with a number I believe was $77 million
               or $80 million, but of course I asked for an analysis.

       In gauging the reasonableness of the local property tax assessments, “[b]oth the underlying

data and the methodology used by the assessor are entitled to [a] presumptions of correctness.”

510 Ryerson Rd., Inc. v. Borough of Lincoln Park, 28 N.J. Tax 184, 193 (Tax 2014). The taxpayer

shoulders the burden of proving “the methodology utilized in [arriving at] the original assessment

                                                  24
manifested an arbitrary or capricious discharge of the assessor’s responsibilities and “provide[d]

no reliable indication that the quantum of the assessment [was] itself reasonable.” Transcon. Gas

Pipeline Corp. v. Bernards Twp., 111 N.J. 507, 538 (1988). As stated above, the focus of the

court’s inquiry centers on whether the valuation of the property, and determination of

the tax assessment, was reasonably related to sound assessment practices, based on reasonable

data and information, were sensitive to changing market conditions, and considered physical

factors uniquely applicable to the property. Id. at 537-38.

       Accordingly, Bloomingdale’s bore the burden of proving that Hackensack arrived at the

subject property’s 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 local property tax assessments in an arbitrary or

capricious manner or were the result of an inherently flawed assessment process. However,

Bloomingdale’s offered no evidence that the market data, analysis, and/or methodology employed

by ASI and Mr. McNerney’s office and relied on by Hackensack’s tax assessor in determining the

subject property’s assessments were flawed.

       Rather, the court finds from the testimony and evidence elicited during phase one of trial

that for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years, Hackensack’s tax assessor adhered to his

statutory obligations, under N.J.S.A. 54:4-23. Data about each property in Hackensack was

collected and analyzed by ASI and presented to the assessor for review, including information

about each property’s block and lot, address, the size of the improvements, the price per square

foot, the sales price per square foot (if any), the prior year assessment information, and the assessed

value on a per unit basis. In addition, an analysis of Hackensack’s land values was undertaken by

ASI and presented to the assessor. Moreover, with respect to the residential properties, data and

information on comparable residential sales occurring within the prior eighteen months was

analyzed by ASI and presented to Mr. Carlson. Further, with respect to commercial properties,

                                                  25
information was collected and analyzed about property sales, unit prices, and values per square

foot. Additionally, a cost approach analysis was undertaken by ASI of all of Hackensack’s

properties, deriving the estimated replacement cost value of the improvements.            Finally,

Hackensack retained its appraiser to perform an independent analysis and appraisal of the subject

property before determining the subject property’s 2019 tax year assessment. In sum, the court

finds that Hackensack’s assessor complied with his statutory obligations, under N.J.S.A. 54:4-23,

of annually revisiting and revising Hackensack’s local property tax assessments, as reasonably

necessary, to account for changing market conditions to ensure equality in the sharing of the tax

burden.

       Therefore, for the above-stated reasons, the court rejects Bloomingdale’s argument that no

presumption of validity should attach to the subject property’s 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax

assessments. During phase two of trial, Bloomingdale’s will shoulder the burden of rebutting the

presumption of validity that attaches to the subject property’s local property tax assessments by

introducing “cogent evidence” of true value. That is, evidence “definite, positive and certain in

quality and quantity to overcome the presumption.” Aetna Life Ins. Co., 10 N.J. at 105.

       III.   Conclusion

       For the above-stated reasons, the court rejects Bloomingdale’s argument that no

presumption of validity should attach to the subject property’s 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020

tax year assessments.

                                               26