Allegheny County property owners have been told they would receive a "very friendly" reception if they ask the assessment appeals board to roll back an assessment increase that occurred after a challenge by their municipality or school district.

But that doesn't mean they can just explain their circumstances to the board and automatically win a reduction. Those property owners -- the county estimates there are about 11,000 -- still will have to present evidence to show their assessment is incorrect and should be reduced.

That message came across loud and clear last night as the assessment committee of Allegheny County Council recommended guidelines for the appeals board. The full council next week will consider a bill that instructs the appeals board to no longer consider sales price as a major factor in determining the value of property, as part of the change to using 2002 as a base year for assessments.

Last month, after nine months of considering other plans that failed for a variety of reasons, council approved Chief Executive Dan Onorato's recommendation to do away with regularly scheduled reassessments and establish 2002 as the base year for property values.

To use the base year approach, the county has to change guidelines for determining the value of property. If council's ordinance passes next week, it will remove sales price as the determining factor.

However, the appeals board must determine what rules it will follow and what evidence it will consider when hearing appeals.

Jerry Y. Speer, the appeals board's acting chairman, told council his board will develop those rules after council approves new guidelines. He stressed that property owners still will have to convince the board they deserve a reduction in their assessment.

"Our decisions have always been based on the evidence presented, and this situation won't be any different," said Mr. Speer.

He said that evidence could be the comparable properties the county used to set the original assessment or other factors, but the board hasn't determined those factors yet. Once that policy is set, the board is legally bound to follow it, he said.

Councilman Vince Gastgeb said the county must make it clear to taxpayers that it is not automatic that they will win a new appeal if they fall into the category of those who saw an increase because of a school district or municipal appeal.

"The last thing we need is for these people to think all they have to do is walk through the door and win, and then have them lose and come screaming back at us," he said.

Council President Rich Fitzgerald said he tells all property owners they still will have to convince the appeals board that their assessment is incorrect.

"All we can do is make the path easier that they have to travel" by scheduling regional hearings throughout the county at convenient hours, he said. "There's no guarantee."