THEIR VIEW

Develop statewide assessment model

This editorial appeared this week in the Patriot-News.

Across the state, people are grappling with our system of property assessment.

In many places, county government officials are trying to figure out the best way to update their assessments, especially as other neighboring counties choose not to do so.

The state must step in and develop a plan so Pennsylvania can look at property assessment in a fair-minded and comprehensive way across the commonwealth.

Rep. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne, has an idea for working out such a new model. He has seen firsthand the pitfalls of our state system.

In his home county, officials recently spent $9 million on their first reassessment in 40 years. Meanwhile, in Bedford County, officials undertook a reassessment months ago, which was the first in 52 years.

In Allegheny County, a judge is setting a timetable for a new reassessment. The 2002 base-year system that the county used was deemed unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court after homeowners challenged it in court.

The county had done a reassessment in 2005, but it was thrown out by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato because it increased property values too quickly.

The Philadelphia Inquirer found many flaws in the final numbers after Philadelphia did its last reassessment.

In the midstate, counties have struggled with the idea of how to administer a reassessment that does not leave property owners struggling to pay higher taxes.

Add to that problem the fact that the economy is struggling to regain momentum and that people will receive property tax relief from state-sponsored gambling essentially based on property values, and the dilemma over how best to do the reassessment becomes clear.

Yudichak has introduced House Resolution 272, which asks the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to look at the way other states similar to Pennsylvania handle reassessment.

The committee is to make recommendations to the General Assembly on how to improve the commonwealth’s practice.

One place in particular that has gained attention is Maryland.

In that state, properties are inspected at least once every three years. Assessment increases are phased in over three years so property owners don’t experience sudden jumps in their taxes.

Maryland also does not have a system in place where assessors work directly for the counties that, of course, benefit from property taxes. This, the state argues, makes them less likely to determine a reassessment based on how it would benefit the county government.

But there are other models also to consider. Property assessment is done yearly in 22 states. A few do them every other year. For its part, Pennsylvania is the only state where counties can essentially freeze property assessments to a particular base year.

The idea of looking at property assessment on a statewide level is worth considering. Yudichak’s proposal to examine what works in other states is a good one.

It should be a priority for the General Assembly to determine a better way to provide property assessments to Pennsylvanians.

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