— When it comes to taxes and property values, out-of-town property owners are as nervous as anybody else.

“They have the same exact questions as the people who live here year-round,” Councilman Joseph Duncan said after attending a meeting of North Wildwood property owners this week.

The meeting, held Monday in Philadelphia, was expected to draw 50 to 100 people, said organizer and North Wildwood property owner Henry Lewandowski.

Instead, more than 300 people showed up. “In a word, it was overwhelming,” Lewandowski said Tuesday.

He and fellow property owner Marge Schernecke hoped to bring together North Wildwood property owners from across the region to discuss the town's recent revaluation, which has increased North Wildwood's total value from $866 million to nearly
$3 billion.

Lewandowski said interested owners were still pouring into the meeting well after it began, and they came from across Philadelphia, Delaware County, Pa., and throughout New Jersey.

“The number one thing the group came up with was just how unfair the Tyler Technologies numbers are,” Lewandowski said.

Tyler Technologies/CLT Division is the firm that conducted the revaluation. Homeowners received their new values by the end of December 2005. Meetings between the company and homeowners who disputed their new values were held through mid-January.

Many North Wildwood property owners saw their values increase many times their previous value. Duncan, for instance, said his Central Avenue home went up six times in value.

Duncan said he went to the meeting to hear what people were talking about and help clear up at least some misconceptions about the city's role in the revaluation, which was ordered by the Cape May County Board of Taxation.

“I definitely understand their concerns. They are questioning the validity of the numbers that they got,” Duncan said.

He said the issue isn't a case of “us against them” but a mutual concern for the future of the city and the people who don't want high tax bills to drive them out of North Wildwood.

While the tax rate should drop significantly following the revaluation, the effect on individual tax bills will vary.

Property owners at this week's meeting were given information on the revaluation and the appeals process that follows.

According to Tyler Technologies, the city is expected to send property owners their final assessment figures on or before Feb. 15. After that, owners can appeal the assessments at the county level.

“We talked intelligently about the issues and cleared up some misinformation. It never deteriorated into a screaming match,” Lewandowski said.

Now, he and Schernecke are compiling a mailing list to keep those who made it to the meeting informed and organized.

And Lewandowski said the meetings are just the beginning for the group.

“We don't have a name. We don't even have a vision. We do want to be involved,” Lewandowski said.

The group is expected to meet again at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Edward O'Malley Athletic Association's Edward J. McBride Sports Complex, 144 Moore St., in South Philadelphia.