Legislation sponsored by an Allegheny County state senator to mandate a cycle of property reassessments was introduced July 31 and has been referred to the Senate Local Government Committee.
Many reassessments have been carried out as a result of lawsuits and very rarely is a subsequent reassessment scheduled after one is completed. How does the legislation propose moving from counties being permitted to keep a base year that can remain in place for decades to a regular cycle?
The legislation prescribes a reassessment schedule for all counties except Philadelphia. There would be an initial reassessment schedule established by the Department of Revenue due at the start of 2026. Ten to 15 counties would have to have a completed, certified reassessment in place by Nov. 15, 2027. Currently there are 11 counties in the reassessment process, including six that last reassessed prior to 1986, but it is not clear if all of those would be done by that date. Each year afterwards another 10 to 15 would be scheduled in order to have an initial assessment done within five years. The schedule is to take into account when the last reassessment was completed, the number of parcels, school districts, geography and population.
| Last reassessment completed… | Number of counties (not including Philadelphia) |
| Prior to 1986 | 16 |
| 1986-1999 | 20 |
| 2000-2009 | 13 |
| 2010-2019 | 12 |
| 2020 forward | 5 |
By the start of 2027 there would be an updated reassessment schedule that “shall require each county to complete a countywide revision of assessment every five years” (counties are free to complete one prior to their scheduled date, which would adjust the schedule).
There is no shortage of objections to conducting a reassessment. Paying for the cost of conducting one has been, and certainly will be one, if there is a cycle put into place. The legislation amends a 2024 law on county operating reserves to permit paying for a reassessment as an allowable expense. It also allows for a per-parcel fee of no more than $20 per year to pay off debt incurred to carry out the reassessment or a property tax of not more than 1 mill. Since school districts and municipalities levy property taxes and would benefit from up-to-date values, it might be advisable to have those governing bodies share in the cost.
The “stick” to ensure counites carry out reassessments on a regular basis is for liquid fuels tax revenue used for road and bridge repairs to be withheld.
In Allegheny County, 2024 liquid fuels tax revenue from the state totaled $3.6 million. At 4.73 mills, the county raised $382.6 million in property taxes; a maximum 1 mill would raise $80 million. With 584,144 parcels, a maximum $20 annual parcel fee would raise $11.7 million. Additionally, the legislation defines the legal presumption of a reassessment and the conditions by which one could be challenged in a court, how taxing bodies would function in regards to appeals and powers for a reconstituted State Tax Equalization Board (STEB), which would move from the Department of Community and Economic Development to the Department of Revenue.
The Allegheny Institute will be monitoring this legislation’s developments.
