Fitzgerald: Recent Assessment Numbers 'Null and Void'

Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday that 2012 assessments will remain at 2002 levels.

Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said it over and over again during a press conference Thursday afternoon: When it comes to property tax reassessment, Allegheny County shouldn’t be singled out. That’s one reason Fitzgerald said he directed the certification of the 2011 assessed values for 2012 taxation purposes—values that are based on the 2002 tax year. For county property owners, that means the assessment numbers they received in the mail last week are “null and void.” New notices would be sent out Thursday, Fitzgerald said, and those are “the ones that matter.” And he was clear: Despite a court order mandated a property tax reassessment, he is following all state laws. “Earlier this week, I took an oath to uphold the laws of the …

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Treat The Disease of Reassessments, Not the Symptoms

State Rep. Jesse White said the basic reason the reassessment figures are so screwy is because the whole system is fundamentally flawed

One of the fringe issues of 2011 came roaring to the forefront as the calendar flipped to 2012. When Allegheny County was forced by a judge to release its first set of property tax reassessment numbers last week, people went indiscriminately crazy as their property values skyrocketed with no rhyme or reason. Even if you weren’t among the first set of new values, the message was clear: This reassessment stuff is a disaster, and no one will be spared by the time it’s all over. As the public outrage and media frenzy raged, the main question being asked was ‘how come these damn politicians didn’t know this was coming?’ Well, to be perfectly honest, some of us damn politicians have seen this coming for a couple of years now, but unfortunately a…

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Reassessment Reform Task Force Continues Work in Harrisburg

State Reps. Jesse White and Brandon Neuman said they were 'encouraged' by progress being made in the meetings.

A joint task force created under legislation authored by state Reps. Jesse White and Brandon Neuman met again Monday in Harrisburg to continue reforming the Commonwealth's flawed system of conducting property reassessments. The focus of the meeting—attended by task force members from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, State Tax Equalization Board, Assessors Association of Pennsylvania, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania School Boards Association and legislators appointed by the House Local Government and Finance committees—was what remedies may be available to make the tax-assessment system more uniform for all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.  The findings will be presented in a report in early 2012, but …

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UPDATED: Judge Says Consent Decree Must Stand

Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan said the county will appeal the decision.

In an opinion filed Tuesday, Washington County President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca said the court has no authority to "modify or otherwise impair" obligations set forth in consent decree—and said a reassessment must go forward. It was for that reason that O'Dell Seneca denied a motion by the Washington County commissioners to grant a stay in the matter. "Defendant motion resits upon the fact that several pieces of poposed legislation are pending within the Pennsylvania General Assembly, all aimed at reforming county reassessment processes statewide," she wrote in her opinion. "They argue that going forward with the reassessment under the terms of the consent decree runs the risk of double-reassessment, because the Legislature may change …

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Reassessment Reality Bites

Massive property tax increase! Caught your attention? Keep reading.

This week, I joined several of my colleagues from the House Democratic Policy Committee for a public hearing on House Bill 166, legislation I wrote to impose a temporary moratorium on court-ordered property tax reassessments. I know, it sounds like a somewhat boring and unimportant topic. I get that. But this little piece of legislation could be the last, best defense against massive property-tax increases later this year. That’s right — I said “massive property tax increase." Glad to see I have your attention again. Reassessment is the process by which the value of all real estate in a county is calculated for the purposes of county, municipal and school taxes. You take all of the value of all of the property and run it through a …

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Local Officials Talk Property Tax Reassessment

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said the purpose of Monday's public hearing was to identify the problems and raise awareness.

State Rep. Jesse White said that if you’re going to do a property tax reassessment, then do it right. That’s why he introduced a bill that would put a moratorium on mandated reassessments until the state Legislature has an opportunity to fix “inequities” within the current system. All of that and more was discussed during a public hearing White, D-Cecil, hosted at Courthouse Square in the City of Washington Monday. “The hearing was definitely about raising awareness of this issue and make it clear that not only does something need to be done, but that we’re identifying solutions,” he said Tuesday, adding that two schools of thought emerged during the hearing. Several officials implored the state to pursue the moratorium until the …

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