Assessment mess is nightmare for recent homebuyers

As a young homeowner in the city of Pittsburgh, I thought that there would be more incentives to encourage home ownership in what is oft-criticized as an aging and dying city.

Similar to the family detailed in Jerome Sherman's article last Friday ("Some Recent Home-Buyers Caught in Assessment Limbo"), my husband and I just received a letter stating that our property value was being reassessed retroactively for the entire year of 2005. Thus, merely two days before Christmas, we were notified that we needed to pay nearly $3,000 by the second week of January to account for the $100,000 increase in our property value.

We are a young married couple who budgets for each of our tax payments and I am in law school. It is very disheartening that, despite paying all of our taxes in a timely manner, we are now being told that we owe this exorbitant amount at a time of year when money is at its tightest. Instead of living the urban dream, we are now ensnared in an urban nightmare.

We live on a small street of identical townhouses. Other properties are still at lower assessment values. I was told that they would eventually get around to the other houses. Curiously, I was then told that I should not be complaining because I live in a desirable location (Shadyside). Was it assumed that we could afford the extra payment?

I don't care what your address is -- being given less than a month to come up with an extra $3,000 right after the holidays is a burden I would not want anyone to carry.

DIANA E. SMITH
Shadyside

---

Reform? Not so fast

I can't help but be amazed at the lack of discussion about the possible consequences of statewide "property tax reform."

First of all, it is interesting that no one has questioned whether Pennsylvania's property taxes are in fact outlandish. Yet a simple Google search reveals that Pennsylvania's property tax is not as onerous as one would believe based on the public discussion. As reported by CNN/Money.com, Pennsylvania ranks 30th in the nation in property taxes per capita. New Jersey is No. 1. With the exception of West Virginia, the other surrounding states -- Ohio, New York and Maryland -- are higher than Pennsylvania, too. So it is not clear to me why this is an issue.

Why would I, a senior citizen, be in favor of maintaining the property tax as is? Primarily because it is the one tax that the politicians can't raise without considerable effort. Contrast that with income taxes, where the politicians claim they are taxing the rich. Or sales taxes, where essential items are to be taxed and the tax revenue increases automatically with inflationary increase in selling prices. These taxes are a politician's dream -- they don't have to do anything in order to get more of our money.

Then there is the potential for unintended consequences should any of the proposals pass. (To make up the lost revenue, the House version calls for expanding the sales tax to include professional services and consumer items not currently taxed and raising personal income taxes. The Senate version raises the earned-income tax rate.) They raise taxes on society's producers while reducing taxes on society's takers. These proposals increase the likelihood of those producers either leaving or not migrating to Pennsylvania.

In my humble opinion, these proposals are recipe for disaster.

FRED ABREW
Peters

---

Begone, King Bush

It's time to impeach King George. The kings of Europe claimed a "divine right" to rule. Answerable only to God, they worried not about process, oversight and legality -- they were above the law. They used the cover of foreign enemies to strangle domestic political enemies.

President Bush has suggested that God put him in office. From that standpoint, he felt it was OK to invade Iraq and lie to the American people about why, because God told him that it is in our best interest.

President Bush also feels that it is OK to spy on Americans without the oversight of the courts, even secret courts. There is simply no need for a paper trail or judicial oversight, because King George is answerable to no one but God. Sound familiar?

As we have also learned last month, the FBI has been spying on and infiltrating domestic anti-war organizations and environmental groups. Do you trust the word of King George that he is only spying on terrorists?

There is a right way (with judicial review) and a wrong way (whoever you want to bug) to conduct domestic surveillance. Neither President Bush nor his torture buddy, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, know the difference!

Call U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy and Melissa Hart and tell them to impeach George Bush because he is answerable to the people first. If they refuse, remove them from office next year and put someone in who will.

MARK J. SENEDIAK
Mt. Lebanon

---

Not so absurd

In response to Heather Rebic's Dec. 30 letter, "Homeland Absurdity":

Ms. Rebic complained about the complications her daughter and grandchildren faced at the Las Vegas airport when, at the security checkpoint, toy guns were discovered in the carry-on bag of one of the children. But she should consider this: Many toy guns appear to be real and, as such, could possibly be used to stage a hijacking. On more than one occasion an individual has been shot by police who could not determine a toy gun from a real one. Signs are posted at all Transportation Security Administration checkpoints indicating that even toy guns are forbidden from being carried on.

Additionally, while I am in no way in support of the Bush administration's use of invasive actions, there is no correlation between that and TSA procedures for carry-on violations.

Finally, Ms. Rebic's letter invites the question: Who allows 5- and 3-year-old children to pack their own luggage for air travel without checking what's in it?

JEFFREY YOT
Mt. Lebanon

---

No hero

In the Dec. 26 article "Murtha Commands Spotlight over Iraq Policy," U.S. Rep. John Murtha is epitomized as a total hero of the left. I can't stand that. Mr. Murtha, from Johnstown, is a leading pro-defense Democrat in the House of Representatives whose three decades in office are marked by support of President Reagan's policies in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Rep. Murtha was a top Democratic supporter of the 1991 Gulf war, and voted to give Bush authorization to invade Iraq in 2002.

Mr. Murtha's call for redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq has caused much dissertation within this "stay the course" administration, and has forced Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to consider a long overdue exit strategy from Iraq. But Rep. Murtha is as far away from an "anti-war darling" as Rolling Rock beer is from Rolling Stone magazine.

LEE CALHOUN
Shaler

---

As we welcome a new mayor, remember what Murphy got right

As we welcome a new mayor of Pittsburgh today, I'd like to offer comments on positive changes that I have seen in our city during Mayor Tom Murphy's administration.

The transformation of our beautiful riverfront has been dramatic and, though there is still much to do, it's still wonderful to take a run at noon and see hundreds of Pittsburghers and suburbanites walking, biking, running or just hanging out on our trails.

In my travels in the neighborhoods, I come across more playgrounds than I could have imagined existed in our city -- every one updated with new and safer equipment and surfaces, thanks to the efforts of former Councilman Dan Cohen and the Murphy administration.

New housing is all over the city, particularly in two of my favorite running areas -- Summerset at Frick Park and the South Side. But it is also prevalent in Allequippa Terrace and other areas. One of this administration's least-talked-about accomplishments was the beginning of the dismantling of the old housing projects.

I am a Peabody High School grad and I was thrilled to see businesses coming back to East Liberty -- Home Depot, Whole Foods and others. My late father extended his useful years by working for the new Home Depot up until his passing at 81 years old.

Failures, yes. Tom Murphy wears his badge of pride in his inability to get along with the state Legislature. But a better example would have been to work with the legislators and others the way he and his administration worked with the communities of Duck Hollow, Swisshelm Park and Squirrel Hill in creating the brilliant Summerset housing development. The process used by the city, private developers, URA and the communities is a model of government-by-the-people and for-the-people at its best.

Anyone that has spent five minutes with Tom Murphy should know that no one could love the city and its people more. All of his efforts, whether successes or a failures, were undertaken to make the city better for all of its residents.

I am looking forward to working with another native Pittsburgher, Bob O'Connor, who loves this city as much as Mr. Murphy does. May he build on the best of what Tom Murphy has done and bring some new ideas to help us move into the future.

KENNY STEINBERG
Squirrel Hill