Letter to the editor: Allegheny County's flawed reassessment system

If you’ve ever purchased a home in Allegheny County, you may have been reassessed on appeal. Why? You may have committed the crime of buying a home with a bad assessment certified by the county. This process isn’t fair but is legal.

Allegheny County is being sued for alleged manipulation of data that causes new homeowners to pay much more than their fair share. People who send out tax bills also get to decide how much is paid on appeal by coding county sales. There is room for possible mischief.

All lawmakers should follow the court proceedings and instill public confidence by asking for an outside audit of the county reporting to the state. The county also should comply with an ordinance regarding chief assessor qualifications.

If the county reporting is presumed to be correct, there is only one conclusion: The Allegheny County real estate market has flatlined the last six years! Tell that to one of the plaintiffs who purchased a home in Wilkinsburg last year. Their taxes will double because of flawed assessments and possible inaccurate reporting about the relationship between recent sales and 10-year-old base year assessments.

The courts fix problems officials are unwilling to address. If lawmakers want to protect individuals trapped by the “newcomer’s tax,” they should fix the reporting problem, or defend the flawed system. They probably won’t. The lawsuit will reveal flaws in the assessment appeal process and, hopefully, ensure that newcomers’ appeals result in huge tax reductions for taxpayers.

Mike Suley

Scott