That can of worms created by Allegheny County officials in their steadfast refusal to conduct regular property reassessment has been opened by a Pittsburgh law firm.
A lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court contends that the practice of school districts and municipalities challenging the assessment of respective properties based on higher sales prices are illegal “de facto spot assessments.”
Those on the other side of the equation say such challenges are perfectly legal and, in reality, no different than a homeowner seeking an assessment reduction.
But thinking people can conclude that such issues would not arise as frequently if the county conducted regular reassessments, which, for reasons political, have not been done in Allegheny County for a number of years. (And that following court-ordered reassessments in 2001 and 2012.
Various and sundry county officials, past and current, argue against regular reassessments, claiming they do everything from spiking tax bills, to discouraging new investment, to stifling job growth.
But it’s simply not true. As the Allegheny Institute noted nearly a year ago:
“When property assessments are not kept up to date and accurate as possible using regularly scheduled and fairly frequent reassessments as all states but Pennsylvania and Delaware require, all sorts of bad things happen.
“Tremendous inequities arise when some properties are grossly under assessed and others are over assessed. The Constitution of Pennsylvania is clear on this point. That situation should not be allowed to stand.”
What very well could – and likely should – happen as a result of this latest lawsuit is that the court(s) once again will not be amused by such constitutional nose-thumbing and, for the third time in 20 years, will order a reassessment.
Indeed, there likely will be tax spikes that shock taxpayer sensibilities. (Just as properties that have lost value will generate lower tax bills). But those spiking tax bills could have been mitigated had county government done the responsible thing and reassessed properties every three years.
As this institute noted a year ago, the only folks who benefit from a poorly executed property reassessment regimen are “the consultants and attorneys handling the appeals.”
If Allegheny County officials can’t act responsibly, then someone else should. And that’s yet another call for the state Legislature to show fealty to the rule of law and order regular reassessments for all counties.
It once was written that while in individuals, insanity is rare, “in groups, parties, nations and epochs it is the rule.” Surely it is a form of insanity for those in Allegheny County government to insist that regular reassessments will result in what their nonfeasance indeed causes.
Colin McNickle is a senior fellow and media specialist at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
