Understanding Your Collingswood Property Taxes: A Resident’s Guide
A breakdown of Collingswood’s 2024 property taxes, explaining where our money went and how they’re calculated.
Background
Collingswood residents are experiencing significant shifts in their property taxes, with our 2025 bills now reflecting the recent revaluation. Additionally, the Collingswood Board of Education voted Monday (subscription req’d) to raise taxes to avoid layoffs, the closure of an elementary school, and further cuts in the coming year. While the full impact of these combined changes is still unfolding, understanding the 2024 tax year’s calculation and distribution could provide a valuable baseline as we face these new financial realities.
It’s also worth noting that New Jersey has among, if not the highest property tax rates in the country, joined by Illinois and New Hampshire in the top three. The three states with the lowest property tax rates are Hawaii, Alabama and Colorado. There are many contributing factors to these variations, which are tied to local property values, local spending decisions and local tax laws and policies. So out of the gate, our property taxes are already going to feel high compared to the rest of the country.
Table of Contents
· What do our property taxes actually fund?
· What were the 2024 budgets for each entity?
· How are the budgets approved?
· How are the property tax rates themselves generated?
· Special Section: Three other issues
∘ Impact of the Revaluation Program
∘ What are the “Special Taxes”?
∘ Impact of Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs)
What do our property taxes actually fund?
Our property taxes are collected and distributed to four groups to support their needs and obligations to our town:
- The Board of Education
- The Borough
- Camden County
- The Collingswood Library
Below is a chart showing the percentage of property taxes allocated to each group last year.
Chart Summary + % Rates and $ Amounts
47% went to the Board of Education
- 🧮 Rate: $1.812 “School Tax” per $100 of Valuation of your property
- 💵 Amount: $18.8M
30% went to the Borough
- 🧮 Rate: $1.149 “Municipal Tax” per $100 of Valuation of your property
- 💵 Amount: $12.4M
22% went to Camden County
- 🧮 Rate: $0.871 per $100 of Valuation of your property (Adding together $0.843 “County Tax” + $0.028 “County Open Space Tax”)
- 💵 Amount: $9.4M
1% went to the Collingswood Library
- 🧮 Rate: $0.047 “Municipal Library Tax” per $100 of Valuation of your property
- 💵 Amount: $502K
What were the 2024 budgets for each entity?
In 2024, the total budget amounts, along with the portion funded by property taxes, were:
- Board of Education: $46.7M($18.8M, or 40%, funded via property taxes)
- The Borough: $21.5M ($12.4M, or 58%, funded via property taxes)
- Camden County: $448M ($322.8M, or 72%, funded via county-wide property taxes, encompassing all municipalities, not just Collingswood)
- Collingswood Library: $502,000 ($502K, or 100%, funded via property taxes)
How are the budgets approved?
Each group independently develops its annual budget and seeks approval from its respective governing body, a process that varies among them.
1. Board of Education Budget Approval:
The Board of Education’s budget requires approval from the Camden County Office of Education. This office serves as the local representative of the New Jersey Department of Education.
2. The Borough of Collingswood Budget Approval:
Collingswood’s budget is reviewed and approved by the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services (DLGS), a branch of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
3. Camden County Budget Approval:
Camden County’s budget gets approved by its own Board of Commissioners.
4. Collingswood Library Budget:
I could not find a publicly available budget for the Collingswood Library. I presumed that the Library Board of Trustees, an eight-member body appointed by the Collingswood Board of Commissioners and currently including the Collingswood Mayor, Borough Administrator, and School Superintendent, is involved in the budget’s creation and approval process.
If you have accurate information regarding the development and approval of the Collingswood Library’s budget, please share it, and this information will be updated.
How are the property tax rates themselves generated?
While information on property assessment criteria and tax calculation is easily accessible, the methodology behind setting the specific property tax rates (e.g. the School Tax @ $1.812, Municipal Tax @ $1.149, County Open Space Tax @ $0.028, etc.) is less apparent. Inquiries point to the New Jersey Division of Taxation establishing the rates, but the formula is unclear.
Special Section: Three other issues
Impact of the Revaluation Program
Our 2025 property tax bills have started reflecting the impact of the “revenue neutral” Revaluation Program. Mandated by Camden County after 17 years, this program required Collingswood to reassess all real estate at 100% of its market value. The goal is to equalize property assessments, which form the basis of individual property tax calculations. While a revaluation is intended to keep the overall amount of property taxes collected the same (hence, “revenue neutral”), individual tax bills have shifted, with some homeowners seeing increases and others seeing decreases.
What are the “Special Taxes”?
There are three “Special Taxes” (S01, S02, S03) that are only assessed on properties in special business improvement districts. A tax levy of $0.198 per $100 of assessed property valuation is applied to these properties to fund business development activities. The funds are utilized by the BID (Collingswood Partners Inc.) For a sense of size and scope, there are between 43 and 245 properties in each of the special improvement districts.
Impact of Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs)
What is a PILOT?
A Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) is a long-term tax exemption program available to New Jersey municipalities. Through this program, municipalities can enter agreements with developers, property managers or owners interested in undertaking improvement projects on properties identified as needing redevelopment, rehabilitation, or as blighted.
“Blight,” while somewhat subjective, has been described as “land so damaged or neglected that it cannot benefit the community without intervention” (G.E. Breger, Land Economics, 1967).
What are examples of PILOTs?
Collingswood has several properties operating under PILOT agreements currently, including The Lumber Yard, Parkview Towers, and Colls Suites at 900 Haddon Avenue.
The most recent PILOT agreement was approved by a 2/3 vote by the Borough in December 2024 for the redevelopment of the former Collingswood Presbyterian Church, which had also been operating as Kaleidoscope Kids Preschool, located at 30 Fern Avenue. This agreement grants a 30-year tax exemption for a project that will create 26 residential units. At the time, Mayor Maley told The Retrospect (subscription req’d) that “some of the revenue from the 30 Fern PILOT would be earmarked for the arts and recreation fund, which would ultimately put money back into both borough and school district arts and recreation endeavors.”
You can see the planned renovations here.
Purpose of PILOTs
The stated intent of PILOTs is to incentivize improvements to properties that are currently or are projected to become underutilized, decline, pose safety risks, or constitute blight. The program operates on the premise that these properties might otherwise fail to generate any property tax revenue eventually, due to their deteriorated condition.
For the complete NJ statute enabling PILOT programs, see the user-friendly version here or the official version here. Additional financial details for PILOT projects are available in this PILOT Viewer from NJ.gov (Note: clicking this link will automatically download the “viewer” file).
Arguments in Favor of PILOTs
Proponents argue that PILOTs can enable financially challenging projects to move forward and allow municipalities to negotiate public benefits for the community as part of the agreement. They say that PILOTs offer more predictable revenue streams for the municipality compared to potentially declining tax revenue over time. PILOT agreements technically increase transparency between property owners and the municipality, through the auditing of a property’s financial statements to calculate annual payments, a practice not standard with traditional property taxes. This auditing is necessary because PILOT payments are typically determined as an annual percentage of either the project’s total income or its total cost.
Those in favor of PILOTs highlight their potential to allow municipalities to share in any unanticipated market success if revenues are tied to a project’s total income.
PILOTs inherently involve long-term tax exemptions on improvements.
Arguments Critiquing PILOTs
Critics contend that PILOTs provide a financial advantage to municipalities by diverting funds from the general property tax pool through these long-term exemptions. This diversion, they say, impacts other entities funded by property taxes, such as school districts, which lack a comparable revenue-generating mechanism.
This impact was highlighted in a report released back in 2010 by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller, stating that “New Jersey’s municipal tax abatement program is pulling critical funding away from school districts and leaving taxpayers to pick up the costs”.
Financial Mechanics of PILOTs
Under a PILOT agreement, the land portion of a property remains subject to standard property taxes. However, taxes on the value of the improvements (e.g., buildings) are typically exempt. For example, a 2024 tax bill associated with The Lumber Yard, a PILOT property, showed the land valued and taxed at $650,000, while the improvements were valued at $0 for tax purposes.
PILOT Approval and Financial Oversight
The Collingswood Borough Board of Commissioners have the sole authority to approve PILOT agreements and determine their terms. Currently, the Borough is not required to assess the financial impact of PILOTs on other entities that receive property tax funding.
On a municipal level, this practice intersects with ongoing discussions and reporting regarding the New Jersey School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) of 2008. Notably, the SFRA includes tax-exempt PILOT properties when calculating the school district’s expected local funding contribution, a factor that has contributed to recurring budget gaps and subsequent reductions in school staff and services.
Consequently, PILOT agreements directly impact the school district’s ability to meet the state’s expectation for how much revenue it should generate each year. Critics of PILOTs highlight that school districts cannot participate in the approval process, or have mechanisms to directly offset any financial impacts.
Summary of PILOT Impact
PILOTs alter the distribution of property tax revenue. While they generate direct revenue for the municipality from redeveloped properties, they also create exemptions on improvement values, which influences the total property tax revenue available for other public entities. A comprehensive evaluation of PILOTs’ impact — financial, social, and emotional — requires considering several factors. These include the prevalence of PILOT agreements, the specific terms negotiated in each, considering the estimated tax revenue of the properties without PILOTs, the appropriateness of the properties’ eligibility under the relevant statute, and the Borough’s approach to exercising its authority, balancing community needs, and defining its civic responsibilities.
Regardless, across New Jersey homeowners are seeing rising property taxes as a consequence of addressing school funding gaps.
Below are some of the most recent headlines laying bare the difficult choices facing school districts, residents and municipalities statewide, forcing them to either reduce staff and programs or seek increases in local property taxes.
- Camden City: N.J. school district plans for 100+ job cuts as it faces staggering $91M budget gap
- Camden County: Collingswood BOE Votes to Raise Taxes Over $1K (subscription req’d), Haddon Township, Collingswood Face Difficult Choices in Resolving School Funding Deficits
- Burlington County: N.J. school district to slash nearly 50 jobs in ‘horrific’ cost-saving plan
- Little Egg Harbor: Jersey Shore school district approves massive 33% tax hike
- Essex County: Another N.J. school district considers cutting sports to save money
- Hunterdon County: N.J. school district cut 65 jobs because of unfair state funding, superintendent says
- Ocean County: N.J. school district proposes cutting all sports to fix huge ‘financial crisis’
- Union County: N.J. school district nixes plan to raise taxes 36% after angry backlash
- Monmouth County: Tiny coastal N.J. school district proposes 12.5% tax hike. Residents are enraged.
If you are a resident and have made it this far, this is a reminder that you can have an impact on all of this by getting involved and by voting.
Vote in the upcoming municipal election on Tuesday, May 13th!
If you missed the deadline to register this year — you can register online right here, right now for the next cycle.
