Many Still Have Assessment Questions

The new assessments getting mailed to Allegheny County property owners have many people asking about what information they need to challenge those numbers.

County and local officials are organizing some informational meetings to help owners understand the process and how to appeal what they believe area incorrect assessments.

Still, confusion remains in the process of how the county came to assign a correct assessment to each property and what people should do to fight them.

A few people were angry Wednesday night while meeting at the Scott Township Municipal Building to learn more about the process and how to appeal the assessment. Many of the 100 others who attended, though, just didn’t understand the process and felt it was unfair, said Joe Hirsch, a veteran real estate agent with Keller-Williams, who helped to organize the meeting.

“The system is terribly broken and my hope was people coming out of that meeting would come to that conclusion,” Hirsch said. “This isn’t fair and there’s no way to make it fair.”

The Scott Township resident thinks the only way to combat the county is to get a certified appraisal to prove the value of a property. Attorneys who also attended the meeting offered their services to help put property owners in the best position possible.

“You better have strong evidence and you better bring an appraisal,” Hirsch said of what many have told him of the appeals process.

But Allegheny County Councilman Mike Finnerty, who also attended last week’s meeting, wondered if that would work because he says the entire process is so flawed. He thinks residents who bring comparable properties that show severe discrepancies will also have a strong case.

Finnerty strongly suggested South Hills property owners automatically file a formal appeal before April 2 because he’s not sure if the informal hearing will make a difference.

“I don’t really know what good an informal hearing will do,” Finnerty said. “It’s not going to change anything, but it might give you some insight on how (the process) is done, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

Finnerty said he plans to hold another informational session at the after St. Patrick’s Day. The date and time will be scheduled soon.

County Councilman Vince Gastgeb, who represents other towns in the South Hills, is holding a similar town hall meeting this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bethel Park High School auditorium. The school is located at 309 Church Road in Bethel Park.

In addition, the Burns White law firm is holding a free, informational event for southern suburban residents from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree. Presented by Jennifer Mislanovich, an attorney who has represented commercial and residential property owners at all levels of Allegheny County assessment hearings, the seminar will cover things like how the appeals process works, who can appeal and how some aggressive school districts might handle the appeals. There will also be time for a question and answer period at the end.

State Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Brookline) offered information about assessment appeals in a .

This article originally appeared on Chartiers Valley Patch.

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