A data entry error that artificially inflated a single property’s value by close to $29 million forced the City of Lambertville to draw over $651,000 from its surplus fund to cover the shortfall.
The clerical mistake, which occurred in the city’s tax assessment system, involved a 2024 overvaluation that pegged a property’s worth close to $29 million when the actual figure was much lower.
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The error led to Lambertville’s total assessments to appear artificially higher, and the city overpaid both Hunterdon County and the school district under a state tax formula.
Mayor Andrew Nowick called the situation a “significant” issue for the city, adding that the mistake went completely undetected by a long list of officials. The tax assessor, Hunterdon County officials, the tax collector, the finance committee, the mayor, the chief financial officer, the budget consultant, the council president, and the deputy treasurer all missed the error.
The error only surfaced when it was flagged by the city auditor, Nowick said.
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“It’s money that is never going to be recovered by the city,” Nowick stated.
The $651,000 error wiped out what otherwise would have been a $620,000 deposit into Lambertville’s surplus fund from excess revenue.
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Nowick said that the massive draw could negatively impact the city’s credit rating after a multi-year streak of building up the city’s surplus.
An investigation into the matter has been conducted, and Nowick stated the findings will remain confidential because it involves personnel issues.
During public comment at a recent meeting, frustrated residents called for the city’s budgeting plan to be halted until an external, independent investigation can be completed.
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“I want to know who is going to be held accountable for this unbelievable, huge, huge disregard for the public interest,” resident Shaun Ellis told the council. “I don’t want an internal investigation. I want someone to look from outside.”
Another resident, Jeff Tittel, questioned why city officials did not investigate further when City Hall first received notice that the municipality’s overall assessment had spiked dramatically.
“That money is gone. It can’t be recovered, refunded, or reinvested in flood protection, stormwater improvements, road repairs, parks, or tax relief,” Tittel said. “Taxpayers are paying for a mistake that should have been caught before it ever reached the budget.”
Councilmember Evan Lide acknowledged the mistake needs further review but defended pushing forward with the budget votes, stating they were necessary to meet mandatory deadlines.
Councilmember Steven Stegman called it “regretful” that the city had to dip into its reserves to fix the assessment mistake.
Councilmember Karen Kominsky pushed for stronger internal oversight, suggesting that council members take on specific, defined roles to monitor different areas of city operations and improve checks and balances.
“I think a lot of the confusion is that we’re turning ourselves inside out to try to not say that there were some problems with the budget this year,” Kominsky said. “There were problems with the budget this year. Errors were made. We were lucky we could cover it.”
In the spring, Nowick introduced an $8.4 million budget to run the city government, which included an estimated $33 annual tax increase for the average homeowner. The city council approved an amended version of that budget.
The amended plan required adding $103,500 to cover interest on notes that had been omitted from the mayor’s original proposal, an oversight Nowick acknowledged during the meeting.
