Pennsylvania state law permits counties to reassess whenever they want. In most cases, counties go decades without updates. Allegheny County Common Pleas judge once opined in open court that the base year system was “a figment of the General Assembly’s imagination.”

The last time a county reassessed is known as a base year. In theory, all frozen values are stable and uniform for many years. Butler County hasn’t reassessed since 1969. Westmoreland since 1972. Beaver County … 1982.

The appeals process works differently. You have two options: (1) You may appeal the present market value. (2) You may appeal the low base year value.

To compensate for property appreciation in appeals, the state has devised a complicated, flawed approach to appreciation. County assessors will review and validate new sales. This results in a factor which supposedly makes taxes uniform on appeal.

Here’s the rub. Many county assessors haven’t valued properties in decades. The state requires assessor review each year. How much have property values increased since last year? Ask your county officials to calculate appreciation rate year-to-year. Bad idea.

The state must update assessment appeals law to measure real property appreciation rates. There are some good third-party sources for this information. This would give taxpayers confidence that the appeals process is fair. You do not want the people who send out the tax bills deciding on how much property values have gone up in decades.

Mike Suley

Scott

The writer, a former Allegheny County manager of the Office of Property Assessments, is a tax assessment consultant.

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