Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
The Borough of Red Bank and Riverview Medical Center have settled years-long litigation over millions of dollars in property taxes the borough has argued the hospital owed taxpayers.
A hospital-owned property at 103 East Front Street whose tax status is part of the settlement, in a photo taken this summer before the building on the site was demolished.
Under the agreement, the hospital agrees to make a one-time payment to the Borough of $1.25 million to settle pending tax appeals. The hospital will also make annual payments of $230,000 to the borough going forward, the document reads.
Those annual “Community Service Contribution” payments must be used by Red Bank for “the advancement of public health and/or public safety or welfare” within the borough, according to the settlement.
In addition, a pair of properties whose tax-exempt status has been in dispute – an office building at 33 East Front Street and a planned parking lot at 103 East Front Street – will now become taxable starting in 2024, according to the resolution.
The settlement has not been publicly announced, but appeared, along with an accompanying resolution and a press release, in an agenda packet posted on the Borough web site in advance of Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council. It can be viewed here.
Borough Manager Jim Gant did not immediately return email seeking comment or clarification on the figures in the settlement or the resolution.
The various tax disputes date back to 2016 when the borough argued that a number of hospital-owned properties were not covered under the property tax exemptions granted by the hospital’s status as a non-profit institution. Those back-and-forth appeals will now be dropped by both sides.
“The hospital and Red Bank have agreed to resolve their differences and settle the tax appeals” reads the resolution up for a vote at Thursday’s borough council meeting.
A hospital owned property at 51-53 Mechanic Street whose tax status was the subject of now-settled litigation between the Borough and Riverview Medical Center.
From the press release included in the agenda:
“The agreement covers the tax-exempt status of specific Riverview Medical Center properties in Red Bank, details the community service contribution by the hospital to the town and establishes a framework for ongoing collaboration between the hospital and town.
“Our collaborative approach with the Borough of Red Bank allows us to continue serving our community while ensuring fair and equitable tax assessments for our properties,” said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, Regional President, Southern Market, Hackensack Meridian Health. “We look forward to working closely with Red Bank to advance the health and well-being of our residents.”
“This agreement represents a positive, fair, and equitable step forward for Red Bank and Riverview Medical Center. It also ensures that the Borough receives significant resources to support important community initiatives,” said Red Bank Borough Mayor William Portman.
“We appreciate Riverview Medical Center’s commitment to working collaboratively with the Borough to improve the lives of our residents.”
The new payments will apparently be paid in addition to several other forms of compensation the hospital sends to borough coffers.
According to the 2024 Municipal Budget, the hospital will pay $457,000 to the borough in “bed taxes.” It is also is anticipated to pay $85,000 as part of a ten-year, $850,000 settlement over unpaid water bills. In that case, the borough originally argued it was owed more than $5 million.
In 2018, the Borough attempted to eliminate the hospital’s property tax exemption altogether but was prevented from doing so by a court ruling.
The property tax battles became a prominent issue in the May 2023 municipal elections in which Riverview President Tim Hogan was running for mayor. Portman, the eventual winner in the contest, said Hogan’s job would have created a “massive conflict of interest” if he were to win, which Hogan denied.
According to the settlement, the hospital owns a total of 16 properties in Red Bank, with the Borough arguing in various appeals over the last eight years that eight of them are not tax exempt. Those, appeals, it appears, will now be dropped.
Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council is scheduled to be held in the council chambers at Borough Hall, 90 Monmouth Street, starting at 6:30 p.m. Access and participation details can be found here. Remote participation is available via the media link (TV icon) on the borough government’s agendas page.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
