Assessment appeals explained
Any Fayette County property owner reeling from the sticker shock of recently receiving a higher property assessment can take steps to appeal the value if they feel it is too high. However, just because there is a higher assessed value, it doesn’t mean property taxes will go up. “What property owners need to realize is that just because their valuation went up, that does not necessarily mean their taxes are going up,” said chief assessor James A. Hercik.
Hercik said since the new assessments were mailed out in the beginning of this month, his office has been fielding a number of calls, and as of last Friday, 636 appeals have been filed.
However, Hercik said about 2,500 appeals forms have been sent out to interested property owners.
When the last reassessment was completed, there were 13,000 appeals filed. The county has approximately 83,000 parcels; meaning appeals were not filed on the majority of parcels.
Property owners who disagree with the new valuation placed on their property have until July 31 to file an appeal with the county.
To appeal, they may download an appeal form from the county Web site or call the assessment office at 724-430-4028 to receive a form in the mail. The county has opened a project office at 253 South Mount Vernon Ave., Uniontown to handle this phase of the program.
Appeal hearings are scheduled to begin the first week of August and be concluded by October 31.
While not every individual property value increased, Hercik said the total valuation of the county has increased between 35 and 40 percent, and what that means is that millage rates must by law come down by that same percentage.
Hercik further explained that for an individual property owner to judge their own situation they can simply take their new value and divide it by their old value to get a ratio of increase.
Hercik said if that ratio is 1.4 or less, the taxes paid are either staying the same or going down. For example, if the new value is $85,000 and the old value is $68,000 that is a ratio of 1.25, or a 25 percent increase. Hercik said if the millage rates come down 40 percent, in this example, the property owner would have a tax savings.
Hercik said about 60 percent of all property owners fall into this category, according to assessment statistics.
This time around, the reassessment project was done in-house, and to decide property values, assessment office employees looked at a variety of variables. Hercik said each property was placed in a neighborhood, which was determined by natural boundaries and similar characteristics of the homes.
Everyone who receives a valuation and disagrees with either the value or the data attributed to the property are being asked to file and appeal form, Hercik said. He said if there is inaccurate data, such as the number of bedrooms or an amenity such as central air conditions, that information will be evaluated.
“Millage rates must be reduced by law for 2010,” Hercik said. Also, by law, in a reassessment year, counties and municipalities can only raise property taxes 5 percent and school districts can only raise taxes 10 percent.
In 2002 property owners saw the school district millage rates drop from an average of 60 mills to an average of 12 mills. “That same process will take place this time,” Hercik said.
Hercik said he is anticipating that sometime this week he will have projected millage rates for school districts so taxpayers can make a comparison.
County and municipal rates will also be adjusted for the 2010 tax year. Those new rates won’t be set, however, until December of this year once all of the assessment appeal hearings have concluded. “Once the hearings are over, our office will certify new totals to the taxing bodies,” said Hercik. They will then adjust their millage rates to be revenue neutral for 2010.