One marquee number that is not yet known: How many Atlantic City owners have appealed their new property values. This year ends 22 years without a reassessment in the resort, where the average property last year was assessed at 36 percent of its market value, Finifter said.

Totals of appeals for the resort and Absecon, also reassessed this year, had not been calculated Thursday. Even without those two figures, county residents filed 1,001 appeals this year, compared with 595 last year, and Atlantic City residents may have reason to appeal in droves.

"Some people reported six or seven times their original assessments," Finifter said. Absecon had been assessed at 49 percent of its market value before its adjustment.

Northfield had the next highest percentage of appeals, mostly from two developments, Finifter said. The county's hearings will begin Friday.

Barnegat Township topped the region in frequency and bulk of appeals. Owners of 733 properties appealed, 6.3 percent of the township's total.

No southern Ocean County towns were reassessed this year. Ocean County as a whole produced 4,132 appeals, the most in at least five years; hearings have already begun. Last year, there were 2,346 appeals.

Millville was the most recent Cumberland County town to be reassessed, in 2005; appeals countywide have remained steady in the three years since. Tax administrator Patricia A. Belmont said she believes some owners appeal annually out of habit, while others appeal previously palatable assessment values when their tax rates go up.

"That happens a lot," Belmont said. "We try to explain the procedure," which means clarifying that assessments are calculated without considering tax rates.

About a quarter of Cumberland County appeals have been settled before reaching a hearing, something that's happening a lot in Cape May County, too.

"In a down market, it's more likely that a town is going to settle a case than not," Brown said. Sixty percent of Avalon's appeals already have been settled by the borough, Brown said.

Municipalities likely to have reassessments as soon as next year include Buena Vista Township, Cape May Point, Commercial Township, Downe Township, Egg Harbor Town-
ship, Folsom, Galloway Town-
ship, Hamilton Township, Lacey Township, Northfield, Pleasantville, Stone Harbor, West Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, administrators said.

To e-mail Eric Scott Campbell at The Press:

ECampbell@pressofac.com

CALLEDTOREASSESS

The following denotes the percentage of property owners in southern New Jersey municipalities who appealed their assessments this spring.

3 percent or more: Barnegat Township (6.3%), Brigantine (3.8%), Ventnor (3.1%)

2 percent to 3 percent: Northfield, Ocean City

1 percent to 2 percent: Egg Harbor Township, Eagleswood Township, Middle Township, North Wildwood, Sea Isle City, Upper Township, West Cape May, Wildwood

Less than 1%: Avalon, Barnegat Light, Bridgeton, Buena, Buena Vista Township, Cape May, Commercial Township, Corbin City, Deerfield Township, Dennis Township, Downe Township, Egg Harbor City, Galloway Township, Greenwich Township, Hamilton Township, Hammonton, Harvey Cedars, Hopewell Township, Lacey Township, Linwood, Little Egg Harbor Township, Long Beach Township, Longport, Lower Township, Margate, Maurice River Township, Millville, Mullica Township, Ocean Township, Pleasantville, Shiloh, Ship Bottom, Somers Point, Stafford Township, Stone Harbor, Stow Creek Township, Surf City, Tuckerton, Upper Deerfield Township, Vineland, West Wildwood, Weymouth Township, Wildwood Crest, Woodbine

None: Beach Haven, Cape May Point, Estell Manor, Fairfield Township, Folsom, Lawrence Township, Port Republic

Data unavailable: Absecon, Atlantic City

Source: County tax administrators