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Judge orders reassessment
Staff writer
Washington County property owners who have for years tuned out news of Allegheny County's property tax reassessments may soon be experiencing such an adventure right here.
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Barring a new law from the state Legislature or a state Supreme Court ruling in a pending case from Allegheny County by Sept. 30, the judge said she wants to see a countywide reassessment performed.
Washington and McGuffey school districts filed suit in January, asking the court to order the commissioners to embark on a property tax reassessment throughout the county.
The county's last reassessment, completed in 1979, took effect in 1981. It resulted from a court case brought by Peters Township School District.
Commission Chairman Larry Maggi, who was returning Tuesday from a meeting in Hershey of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, weighed in on reassessment.
"That was a big topic there, reassessment and the Judge Wettick case," Maggi said.
Allegheny County Judge Stanton Wettick ruled in the case of Clifton v. Allegheny County and called the state law allowing counties to use a base-year system to assess property values unconstitutional, saying it produces "arbitrary, unjust and unreasonably discriminatory results."
An appeal of his ruling was argued before the Supreme Court in September.
Most counties, including Washington County, use a base-year system for assessment.
Maggi said he hadn't actually seen O'Dell Seneca's order, but was familiar with the gist of it.
"We're hoping the state Legislature will address property tax reform and alleviate the problem for local property owners," Maggi said. "We've received promises and promises, and we're not seeing anything done."
Another issue that has arisen since the two school districts filed suit is the credit crunch.
"We don't know if anybody's doing any municipal bonds now," Maggi said. "Right now with the economic issues, there's no money to do that."
The cost of a reassessment ranges from $4 million to $8 million, not a sum the county can obtain without borrowing.
"The unfortunate thing is it always falls on the taxpayers locally," Maggi said. "They shoulder the burden for everything, especially with the economic climate right now."
He already has asked Debbie Bardella, director of the county tax revenue office, to request proposals from reassessors.
An agreement reached in court among the parties stated, "that as a consequence of inflation, the increased costs of new construction and the general appreciation in value of real estate, the spread of the ratio of assessed value to market value is becoming wider. ... The parties acknowledge that inequities exist in the assessments presently levied on property throughout Washington County."
Technology and automation has changed drastically since the last time Washington County properties were reassessed, and county solicitor Mary Lyn Drewitz hopes this will help the process go a little more smoothly.
"I would suspect that part of the bid process would be to consider technologies that would allow for adjustments in the assessment process so that a full countywide do-it-from-scratch, look-at-the-property kind of assessment would not be necessary on a daily basis," Drewitz said.
Susan Mondik Key, whose law firm is solicitor for Washington School District, was also representing McGuffey in court Tuesday as special counsel.
"Our position was if we had gone to trial and won, we probably wouldn't get a reassessment before September of 2009 anyway," Key said.
"Does this mean my taxes are going up? Not necessarily," Key said of the president judge's order. "The whole reason for the reassessment is because we have noticed the inequities in the current system. People don't like to pay taxes as it is, but you don't want to pay more than your fair share. What we can assure you is that now everybody will pay their fair share of taxes, and it will be equitable for everybody."
Contacted for comment, Maggi said, "I would respectfully disagree. Why they want to reassess is because the assessment on houses will go up. We've not been reassessed for 28 years. General intelligence tells you it's going to go up."
A generality about a reassessment is that the assessment on a third of the properties will go up, a third will go down and a third will stay about the same.
Because of the time it takes to perform a reassessment, County Solicitor Lynn DeHaven said it could be 2012 or 2013 before the new assessments take effect.
Key added that, by law, tax increases are capped to prevent windfalls to the taxing bodies in the year following a reassessment.
Moving day is coming! : 11/26/2008
Get ready to move, the same fiasco that made thousands of people move out of allegheny county will nbow cause them to move evan further into the country. This outdated method of guessing the value of ones property needs to be replaced. People, get your heads out of the sand and start speaking up before it is to late.
Reassessments : 11/26/2008
I hope the county commissioners follow the lead of Allegheny Co. and also file suite against the judges ruling. It's time the school districts (school boards & administrators) become responsible budget managers! The taxpayers of this county cannot afford more bailouts. Judges, commissioners, and other leaders and politicians- get some common knowledge and common sense about what is happening with our economy and force schools and government to live within budgets! Where is all the gambling money and why isn't it helping to pay the bills? It's time for the property owners to speak out and to take action! Enough is enough!
Reassessment : 11/26/2008
How will this affect myself and all others? Will the Real Estate Property Taxes be going up or down, sorry I'm a little confused. Also how will this be done and is it more fairer than the present assessment of the family home of 54 years. How will "The Gambling Revenues", still help out< especially with the "Big one", School District Taxes, let alone local and County of Washington real eastate taxes? When and how will these reassements be carried out? Also how it will come into play with the Commonwealth's Property Tax and Rent Rebate be affected. Sorry, I've lived here all my life, but with this I have so many questions, concerns and not getting enough information to understand the ramifications of this. Marty, Canonsburg PA.
