Tuesday, April 28, 2009

PG May Not Stand Alone After All

The state Senate Judiciary Committee voted Monday to move the nomination of a second member of the Ocean County Board of Taxation to the full Senate. Attorney Nick Montenegro, 66, of Point Pleasant, a Democrat, was among two names from Ocean County released by the committee. Real estate agent P.G. Waxman, 50, of Lakewood, also a Democrat, is up for reappointment. Both nominations are for five-year terms and come with an annual salary of about $20,000. The part-time appointments are made by the governor and require confirmation of the Judiciary Committee before a vote in the full Senate. "That is good news," said county Tax Administrator L. Ozzie Vituscka. "It makes us functional. We can conduct business. It's not optimum, but it's a start." The seven-member county tax board has been functioning with just a single commissioner — Waxman — for more than a month. While Waxman can hear tax appeals as the lone sitting member of the board, he is legally bound from rendering decisions without at least a second member. The panel has been dwindling in size for the past two years due to attrition. Previous appointments made by Gov. Jon S. Corzine either withdrew their names, were held up over questions about qualifications or blocked for political reasons. The board expects to hear about 11,000 tax appeals from property owners in 2009. There are reassessments this year in Bay Head, Manchester and Seaside Park and revaluations in Jackson, Lacey and Toms River, according to the board.App.

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