The absence of a quorum on the Ocean County Board of Taxation is due to a deliberate effort by the state, Ocean County and its municipalities to put a crimp in the tax appeals process. The board has only one member and he has been instructed by the state attorney general not to make any appeal decisions. The motive behind this official inaction is to keep municipalities from having to pay overwhelming tax refunds. My town of Lakewood is spending $700,000 to revalue all properties after it did so during the housing boom three years ago. Next year, the township will probably reduce assessments but raise the tax rate, eliminating the possibility of achieving the required 15 percent difference between market and assessed values. Taxpayers should immediately mount a class-action lawsuit.