Taxes could get sky-high with aerial technology
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, 609-463-6711
Published: Monday, September 29, 2008
Images like this from a new high-tech aerial photography system can reveal
an illegal porch from 5,000 feet and give tax assessors a way to grow
revenue.
A new high-tech aerial photography system that can spot an illegal porch
from 5,000 feet is being marketed to tax assessors as a way to grow
revenue.
Pictometry International Corp. says it offers tax assessors 12 different
views of every square foot of building or land in a jurisdiction that buys
their system. They call it “sophisticated visual intelligence.”
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew has another name for it.
“It’s Big Brother,” said Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.
“We’re not supposed to be spying on people. When it gets to the point
where we’re doing aerial spying on people’s lives, I’ve had enough,” Van
Drew said.
At stake is an untold amount of tax revenue. Cape May County appears to
be ground zero on the issue as it was one of the first in the nation to
buy into the system, purchasing its first pictures in 2003.
While Van Drew ponders writing a law to limit the uses of Pictometry, Cape
May County Tax Administrator George R. Brown III is already using it to
adjust assessments on farms. He doesn’t consider it a Big Brother tactic.
He calls it “a great assessment tool,” one of many to make sure people pay
their fair share of taxes.
“What’s on the books should be enforced, and we have new technology to do
that. You compare the photos and find physical changes,” Brown said.
Farmers who are not farming enough of their land could end up with higher
taxes. Brown said the next step is to use pictures of residential areas to
catch illegal additions and other violations.
Some southern New Jersey tax administrators support the technology while
others are wary. Cumberland County Tax Administrator Patricia Belmont, for
example, is in no hurry to get Pictometry.
“We like our farmers. We want to keep our farmers here. … They’re just
looking to find a dollar where they can,” Belmont said.
Atlantic County Tax Administrator Lois Finifter doesn’t have Pictometry
yet, but she said she wants to look into it. She supports Brown’s
argument: “It’s a benefit to all taxpayers. If people don’t take out
permits, they’re not paying their fair share. Others take out permits, and
they’re paying,” Finifter said.
Finifter’s only problem with Brown’s use of Pictometry is he may have
relied on it too much. She said if there are questions, a physical
inspection of a farm can clear up mistakes.
Brown challenged the assessments of West Cape May farmers Les and Diane
Rea, even though the local assessor, Art Amonette, supported the Reas’
farmland-assessment application. Finifter said it should be up to the
local assessor and not the county tax board to judge the applications.
“We don’t do that now, and don’t anticipate we’ll be doing that. We’ll
advise assessors but that’s the assessor’s call,” Finifter said.
In Ocean County, Tax Administrator Ozzie Vituscka said the county might
use Pictometry but not on farmland. Vituscka said local assessors make
that call.
“I don’t know if that’s my responsibility, and I wouldn’t rely solely on
one tool. I’m old school. I’d probably go in the field to look. I enjoy
visiting farms,” Vituscka said.
Burlington County is just getting Pictometry, and Tax Administrator Marge
Nuzzo said she is anxious to use it although she’s unsure if it will be
applied to farms.
“I’m really excited about it. I’m just not set up for it yet. It’s a great
assessment tool and we’re anxious to get started on it,” Nuzzo said.
Peter Furey, who heads the New Jersey Farm Bureau, said he has no problem
with Pictometry just the way Brown interpreted New Jersey’s Farmland
Assessment Act and aerial pictures of the Reas’ land. He said the Reas do
not have to farm all their land as some can be in permanent pasture,
woodland or other related uses.
“It’s less about technology than the apparent introduction of personal
interpretation and personal opinion. With old-fashioned or new methods,
compliance is compliance. They’re legislating through enforcement
practices,” Furey said.
Diane Rea does not know much about Pictometry. She calls it, “a computer
thing,” but she said Brown disputed the number of acres of pumpkins
growing when the pictures were taken in March.
“We don’t grow pumpkins in March,” Rea said.
She also claimed the Cape May County trespassed on their land to take
ground-level pictures to complement their aerial shots.
Bill Crowther, Brown’s field investigator, said he took the ground-level
pictures from public roads.
Since the county got Pictometry, it has found a wide range of uses with
police, firefighters, zoning and emergency management. The county says tax
assessment is one of 15 applications, and its use by Brown to review all
400 or so farms in the county is new.
“I think what we did was fair,” Brown said. “The kind of review we gave to
the Reas we’ll give to every farmland application in the county,” Brown
said.
Brown said the Reas are legitimate farmers and taxpayers. One problem, he
said, is area farm values are increasing. A farm nearby on Stevens Street
recently sold for about $100,000 an acre, he said. Brown is also aware of
farms in northern New Jersey being turned into “McMansion estates” that
may not deserve lower assessments.
Brown may want assessments to be tied to such market values, but Furey
argues the Farmland Assessment Act doesn’t work that way. It was designed
to keep New Jersey farmers farming by lowering their tax burden despite
what the real estate market was doing, he said, noting how much of the Rea
farm is deed restricted against development.
“The tax administrators are bound by existing law and court precedent.
There’s been 40 years of precedent. The state tax court is where this
belongs,” Furey said.
That’s where the Rea case is heading, to test the legality of Pictometry’s
use for tax assessment for the first time.
E-mail Richard Degener:
[email protected]
Replies
My city in So. California is already using a similar system of comparing aerial photography to catch unpermitted work. The city employs a team of summer hires to scan before and after pictures of the city and make note of the differences and then research the permits for an address in question. Supposedly it has become a significant source of revenue for the city.
Funny this comes up, because I was just thinking of it the other day.Somewhere, and I'd swear it was here, or in the mag, there was a story of a guy in SoCal that decided to have a little fun at the government's expense, due to their overflights for tax assessment purposes.As I recall, he cut out a large piece of blue vinyl, in the shape of a swimming pool, and placed it strategically in the backyard. He then surrounded it with chairs, and maybe even a fake diving board. Several times he was paid a visit by the tax assessment division who wanted to inspect his back 40 for an un-permitted structure. He'd leave them waiting at the front door, and roll everything away before allowing them access to the backyard.Apparently it drove them nuts and spurred ever more agitated visits, since the government was sure he was cheating the system.This sound familiar to anyone? I'd love to find the original story.'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
View Image
Thats great, I would love to see the original story too. Reminds me of the camo used during WWII to hide strategic factories in the LA area. They made the industrial areas look like residential neighborhoods from the air. Some of them were very elaborate.
Experienced, but still dangerous!
My city doesn't use it for permits -- but it did use something similar to "estimate" the hard surfaces that affect storm water runoff. More hard surface = more storm water charges. Unfortunately, their price levels are so broad that I can't do anything to reduce my bill short of tearing down the house.
JoeH
it's used here for exactly that reason..
Getting permits is extremely tough so a lot of work is done on weekends when inspectors aren't around.
The real fault lies with the permitting process not the enforcement.
Where is the %&$($)%*# link to the story.
For many reason I much prefer to look the orginal.
And I want to know the source.
I did find it.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/181/story/270635.html
But I should not have to.
BTW, this been done for several years in some areas.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
rough day today bill ?
carpenter in transition
No more than usual.I I have kind of slacked on this, but I have long make request that everthing have links..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
I think it's inappropriate to post an article like that, especially without crediting the source. On some forums it's not permitted to cut and paste, you are only permitted to link.
On some forums it's not permitted to cut and paste, you are only permitted to link.
those forums must be a blast!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Hey man, I ain't no lawyer, but I think it's to avoid copyright infringement.
I'm not sure for how long, (3 or 4 years, anyhow) but Massachusetts D.E.P. uses sat photos to determine wetlands violations. When they suspect someone is altering/ filling, they go back and look at photos from previous years. Hmmmm......this big green area is now filled with cars being stored. Where's the Notice of intent? Order of Conditions? Didn't know ya couldn't do that, huh? Gotcha. Here's your fine. And better get ahold of a nursery that sells "high bush blueberry plants, cause....Y'all got some replicatin' ta do.
I don't really have an issue with it tho, ( I DO think some of the regs are out there, but....) play by the rules and who cares who's watching?
Bing
Lee County Fla has been using aerials for tax appraisals for many years. They have better a better plot plan than I have and they keep the dates of all of my additions better than me.
It is only taxes tho. I haven't seen anyone complaining about permits, they just want the taxes.
You realize of course that aerial photos have been used for 40-50 years for enforcing zoning, tax assement, land use, tobacco allotments, looking for marijuana fields, etc? It's not new.
Our city is using a areial software that is used more for development. The City manager can meet with a developer and show potential sites measure the area of the sites, see road acess and the same is link with a utilities software to show service.
A very powerfull community development tool for when a developer comes in to the office and says we are looking for 1.5 acers on the main hwy. Yu can see where you can find the land, who owns the land, and utilities.
It's all fine with me if it's about permits for additions or other permanent structures.
The tax revenue part irks me. But then I'm not in agreement with how home owners are taxed anyway.
We're an easy target so we pay for lots of things which are unrelated to essential community services.
When I bought my first building lot in rural NY State, 1970, the property and school taxes were less than $100/year, for four acres on a dirt road. That was with an old, economically conservative county government.
But they couldn't stop the state from moving NYC welfare people into slum housing in several small cities and towns in our county. The state mandates that counties pay for these NYC's problems so, over the next few years my taxes increased ten fold, largely due to the increased welfare bill.
It's very discouraging when you want to use your hard earned money to improve your own property but find out that the increased taxes will make it unaffordable.
That's not the American dream as I remember hearing about it.
They've been using similar here now for a couple years. No more getting away with something cause you are out in the sticks.
Things like clearing wetlands or nesting habitat is more likely to get noticed than a porch or shed though.
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