In the coming weeks, Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign legislation to make Gloucester County the first in the state to have a countywide tax assessor.

The proposed bill, which has passed through the Legislature, is on the governor's desk and ready to go, according to Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney.

"There's no issue about the bill being signed into law," said Sweeney, who also serves as Gloucester County's freeholder director. "The governor's office is very supportive."

Once it gets the governor's approval, the county will work to have the program running by January.

Under the bill, all 24 towns will be on a three-year cycle for revaluations. The state has agreed to pay $8.8 million to get the program started. If this effort proves successful, other counties would make the move, but not with the same state support.

Under this bill, county taxpayers are expected to save an estimated $1.5 million annually.

Ed Burek, who is currently the county's tax administrator, will assume the role of county assessor, according to deputy county Administrator Gerald White. He will have a staff that includes a part-time ombudsman who will be responsible for coming to the aid of taxpayers trying to appeal. That person will also advise tax board members.

There will also be a deputy assessor as well as a handful of certified tax assessors brought on to get the work done for the county.

The county will be divided into three regions. Each region will have its own team designed to update the tax assessments on a three-year cycle.

It is not certain which towns will go first, according to White. The county is waiting for a determination about the nine communities already under orders to begin property reassessments.

"The county will be 100 percent reimbursed for the cost of the revaluations," said White.

To accommodate all residents, the main office for the county assessor will be in Clayton, but there will be satellite offices in at least two other communities. Staff members will also agree to travel to any town that wants on-site staff stopping by to help with questions from residents.

Many of these details still need to be ironed out, according to White, who said the first issue will be deciding the order for these revaluations.

It will be difficult, White said, to have certain towns completed in the same year because of population.

"Whatever the transition plan is ultimately determined to be, it has to be efficient and it should make sense in terms of doing towns with similar market characteristics at the same time," said White.

There has been some dissension from those who criticize the plan, but the municipal leaders in all 24 towns have signed off on the program.

"Some people are comfortable with the system they have in place even when it's dysfunctional," said Sweeney. "There is no reason why this can't work."

When legislative approval was first sought, a bipartisan group of county mayors went to Trenton to testify in favor of the plan.

Republican Harrison Township Mayor Lou Manzo was one of those asked to speak.

Harrison happens to be in the middle of a very expensive revaluation process. Once the governor signs the bill, it would put the township in place to get refunded for the effort to stabilize tax bills.

"At least it will be fair across the board and a more consistent revaluation on an ongoing basis," said Manzo. "We can save tax dollars, it will be more efficient and we don't lose services. I wish every decision was that easy."