Pittsburgh property owners will be the first to see new values for their real estate, but they may not get a chance to make informal appeals of their assessments.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. hinted this morning that a revised schedule for completing the controversial county-wide reassessment might not allow time for the informal challenges.
As the 18-month project nears completion, county assessors are up against deadlines for completing revaluations in time for the city and the its public school district to send out 2012 tax bills. Assessment numbers for the rest of the county's municipalities and school districts will be released as they become available throughout the spring of 2012.
Judge Wettick, who is overseeing the court-ordered reassessment, has been holding weekly conferences with county officials to hear updates on the project.
Wesley Graham, the county's chief property assessment officer, said at today's meeting that the informal appeals were critical to getting accurate, uniform numbers for neighborhoods and for correcting errors. He had never omitted informal reviews in his 29 years of doing property valuations, he said.
"Every taxpayer deserves one last shot," County solicitor Michael Wojcik told the judge.
Informal appeals are brief quasi-legal procedures where owners offer evidence to assessors that they believes shows that their properties have been inaccurately reassessed. Their proof can include certified appraisals, neighborhood sales comparisons, claims of mathematical errors and photographs.
Formal appeals, on the other hand, are heard, not by assessors, but by a hearing officer from the county's Property Assessment Appeals and Review Board. These proceedings are bound by stricter rules of evidence, procedures and public notice.
Judge Wettick's proposed timetable for completing the reassessment includes a Dec. 9 deadline for sending out new assessed values for city and Mount Oliver properties.
An alternative timetable proposed by Mr. Wojcik would give assessors until Jan. 3 -- an additional 3 1/2 weeks -- to send out preliminary values. It would have informal hearings begin Jan. 9.
Mount Oliver assessment numbers are being released at the same time as the city's, because borough residents are part of the Pittsburgh Public School system.
The judge could rule as early as this afternoon.
First Published: November 2, 2011, 5:45 p.m.
