Today, October 19th, 2009, is quite an important day for property taxpayers in Allegheny County. It is the day when Judge Wettick is to decide on a timeline for reassessing property in the County due to the Supreme Court’s decision on the base year.
That is, first and foremost, what will have the media and public’s attention. But there is a secondary issue that comes from this statement in the September 27th Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on how and when the County plans to assess the value of the Rivers Casino: “…the county expects to hire a consultant by Oct. 1 and have the casino’s full value on the books by Jan. 15 for the 2010 tax year”.
Some eighteen days later, no action has been taken. The Purchasing and Supplies Division of the Administrative Services Department has no bid or proposal for the consultant; an official of that division found that the Property Assessment Office (in the same department) has not advertised for the consultant position.
In other words, unless the Judge issues a ruling that calls for an immediate reassessment of all property in the County to be ready for January 1, 2010, the casino assessment will languish for the time being and not be ready for the coming tax year as advertised.
