BOROUGH OF TOTOWA
NOTICE AND SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS FOR THE POSITION OF TAX APPEAL
CONSULTANT FOR THE BOROUGH OF TOTOWA
The Borough of Totowa is soliciting proposals from professional real estate appraisal and
consulting firms on an as-needed basis in order to prepare and defend against the various tax
appeals filed against the Borough and serve as the Tax Appeal Consultant for the Borough of
Totowa for a term of one (1) year for the period of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.
Three (3) copies of the proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope bearing the name and
address of the vendor and the name of the contract being bid upon on the outside of the envelope.
The proposal shall be addressed to Joseph Wassel, RMC, Borough of Totowa Municipal Clerk,
Municipal Complex, 537 Totowa Road at Cherba Place, Totowa, New Jersey 07512 and must be
received no later than 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025. No proposal shall be received
in person or by mail after the designated time
Specifications and instructions are on file and may be obtained at the office of the Municipal Clerk
of the Borough of Totowa, Municipal Complex, 537 Totowa Road at Cherba Place, Totowa, New
Jersey 07512, Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or online at
www.totowanj.org.
Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the most advantageous to the Borough of Totowa, all
factors considered. Proposals will be evaluated by the Mayor, designated members of the Council
and members of the Borough’s administration. The evaluation will consider:
1. Experience and reputation in the field;
2. Knowledge of the Borough of Totowa and the subject matter to be addressed under
the contract;
3. Availability to accommodate any required meetings;
4. Compensation proposal;
5. Other factors if demonstrated to be in the best interest of the Borough of Totowa.
A contract will be awarded as provided by law at a public meeting.
Proposals are being solicited through a fair and open process in accordance with N.J.S.A. 19:44A-
20.5 et seq. The Borough of Totowa reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive
any informalities or irregularities in the proposals received.
Joseph Wassel, RMC
Borough of Totowa Municipal Clerk
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE POSITION OF TAX APPEAL CONSULTANT
FOR THE BOROUGH OF TOTOWA
The Borough of Totowa is soliciting proposals for the position of Tax Appeal Consultant
to provide professional real estate appraisal and tax appeal consulting services to the Borough.
The Borough will select one vendor for the position of Tax Appeal Consultant based upon a fair
and open process in accordance with N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4, et seq.
Please note that in order to have a proposal considered by the Borough of Totowa, an
interested party must demonstrate the minimum requirements for the position of Tax Appeal
Consultant as set forth in Section III and that the interested party otherwise complies with the
proposal requirements set forth in the Borough of Totowa’s “Notice and Solicitation of
Proposals”.
I. APPOINTMENT OF TAX APPEAL CONSULTANT
One (1) professional real estate appraisal and consultant will be appointed by the Borough
to serve as the official Tax Appeal Consultant for the Borough of Totowa for a term of one (1)
year to perform tax appeal services for the Borough of Totowa. The appointment term will expire
on December 31, 2026.
II. SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Tax Appeal Consultant shall perform the following minimum duties as well as those
prescribed by any applicable laws and ordinances:
1. shall perform physical inspection of each property and the subject
neighborhood area, provide detailed description of property and its
immediate environment, review and analysis of municipal records,
verification of zoning and development approvals, analysis and discussion of
regarding highest and best use of property, discussion as to an appropriate
valuation method(s) to utilize, research and investigation of market date to
be utilized in the assessment; preparation of appraisals, attendance at
conferences and depositions and providing expert witness testimony at each
trial as needed in order to defend and/or prosecute all County, State and
Federal real property tax appeal matters on behalf of the Borough of Totowa.
This includes all on-going real property tax appeals and such other appeals
or tax matters that may be filed against/and or by the Borough of Totowa.
2. shall provide legal advice, research and assistance on any matter as needed
by the Borough of Totowa and the Tax Assessor.
3. perform any additional duties as directed by the Borough of Totowa.
III. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND VENDOR RESPONSES TO THIS
SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS
In order for the proposal to be considered by the Borough of Totowa, interested
parties must meet the following minimum requirements:
A. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
In order to fulfill the duties of Tax Appeal Consultant for Borough of Totowa, it
must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Borough of Totowa that the potential
vendor:
1. is certified and/or licensed to perform real estate appraisals in the State of
New Jersey;
2. has been licensed and/or certified for a minimum of ten (10) years;
3. is multi-disciplined with at least ten (10) years’ experience in all aspects of
commercial and residential real estate (the appointed Tax Appeal Consultant
may be assisted by employees of his/her firm with lesser levels of
experience);
4. has ten (10) year’s experience representing municipalities in all
County, State and Federal real property tax appeal matters.
5. has sufficient staff to satisfy the scope of services described in this proposal.
B. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR VENDOR RESPONSE TO THE
BOROUGH OF TOTOWA’S SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS
Interested parties wishing to provide a proposal in response to the Borough of
Totowa’s solicitation shall provide the following minimum information in its proposal,
which proposal must be submitted at the location and within the time constraint set forth
above:
1. Full name and business address of entity or person submitting the
proposal and the name of the key contact person;
2. A description of the business organization (i.e., corporation,
partnership, joint venture, etc.) of each firm, its ownership and
organizational structure;
3. The number of years your organization has been in business under the
present name, and the number of years the business organization has
been under the current management; List of all individuals who, if
selected, will provide services to the Borough of Totowa, along with
a summary of the licenses held by each such person;
4. Number of years each individual has provided services to municipal
entities in the State of New Jersey;
5. A description of services that will be provided to the Borough, in
addition to those set forth in Section II;
7. A copy of the firm’s State of New Jersey Business Registration
Certificate;
8.
9. A statement and listing of professional service fees offered to the
Borough of Totowa as Tax Appeal Consultant;
10. A statement that applicant complies with the New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1, et seq., and the Affirmative Action
Law of the State of New Jersey, P.L.1975 c.127 as set forth in Exhibits
“A” and “B”;
11. A completed Affidavit of Non-Collusion;
12. The name and addresses of at least three (3) references consisting of
clients for which the applicant has provided services in the past five
(5) years, which should include at least one (1) municipal entity client;
13. A list and description of all professional liability claims, if any,
brought against the applicant during the past five (5) years;
14. Confirm the appropriate federal and state licenses to perform
activities;
15. The applicant shall provide the Borough of Totowa with three (3)
copies of its proposal.
In addition to the terms and conditions specified in this Request for Proposal, the
Tax Appeal Consultant, or his firm shall secure and maintain, during the life of the contract,
insurance for workers compensation for its employees, officers, agents and/or partners as
required by law. The Tax Appeal Consultant or his firm shall secure and maintain
professional liability insurance for itself and all professional staff with a limit of not less
than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) per claim and aggregate. A Certificate of
Insurance shall be provided to the Borough as evidence of such coverage.
IV. BASIS OF AWARD OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
The Borough shall award the professional service contract based upon
qualifications, merit, cost competitiveness, references and experience with issues
confronting the Borough of Totowa. Proposals will be evaluated by the Mayor of the
Borough of Totowa and Borough officials, such as the Municipal Clerk and Tax Assessor.
The determination will be based upon the most advantageous proposal to the Borough of
Totowa, through price and other factors considered, which have been stated above. The
specific criteria will include, by way of example and not by way of limitation:
1. Individual and firm experience and reputation;
2. Knowledge of the operations of the Borough of Totowa and the services to
be provided as the Tax Appeal Consultant;
3. Availability to accommodate any required meetings;
4. Compensation proposal.
5. Other factors that the Borough of Totowa deems to be in the best interests
of the Borough.
A contract will be awarded as provided by law at a public meeting.
All awards are and shall be subject to the availability of funds for the professional
services.
This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.