CLEARFIELD – The topic of reassessment reared its head at Tuesday’s meeting of the Clearfield County Commissioners. During the discussion the commissioners revealed a pending lawsuit against the county.
The last county-wide reassessment was in 1989.
Decatur Township Supervisor Andy Rebar went to the commissioners to discuss reassessment and tax fairness. Rebar said they should not sit back and wait.
Commissioner Chairwoman Joan Robinson-McMillen said that she is against reassessment as it currently stands. She said she was open to investigating the perceived problem and finding some fairness for all in the county.
Rebar agreed, and added that there needs to be equitable sharing.
McMillen said that she would like to see a committee or something akin to one formed that consisted of people throughout the county to look at tax fairness.
Commissioner Mark McCracken noted that the average cost of an assessment is between $48 and $65. He stated that Clearfield County has over 66,000 parcels. He indicated that the cost of reassessment would initially cost the county over $3 million, with backend costs coming in at probably another $1 million. McCracken said the backend costs are due to people appealing their assessments.
McCracken said that he would like to see changes come from Harrisburg that would make the process easier on counties. He mentioned the potential of using a parcel’s sale amount as a part of the process, something that is currently illegal.
Commissioner John Sobel asked that people concerned with assessment/reassessment need to come to the commissioners’ public meetings and deal with them publicly. Sobel said it was hard to deal with people when he did not even know who they were.
Sobel was regarding a letter the commissioners received through County Solicitor Kim Kesner from McQuaide Blasko dated Feb. 6, 2009 on behalf of a group of concerned citizens.
The six-page letter starts:
“For the reasons set forth herein, and in the accompanying Clearfield County Real Estate Assessment studies which have been prepared by renowned tax reassessment expert, David S. Barr of 21st Century Appraisers, Inc., we respectfully request that the Clearfield County Board of Commissioners immediately undertake action to complete a proper real estate reassessment of all properties in Clearfield County for the purpose of compliance with the constitutional and other legal requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding real estate taxation.”
According to the letter, it is generally recognized that a reassessment should be done once every six years. It also points out that “there are no statutory provisions that set forth a maximum amount of time allowable between reassessments.”
The letter later states that Clearfield County is “currently in flagrant violation of Pennsylvania law and is in desperate need of a county-wide reassessment in order to cure the current inequities in its property tax scheme, which have far surpassed the level of constitutional and moral tolerance.”
“Every single statistical index indisputably points to an unfair and unconstitutional taxation of real property in Clearfield County. The inequities are demonstrated not only in comparison to other counties across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but also in comparison between Clearfield County’s various municipalities and property types. It is incumbent on the Clearfield County Commissioners, who are duty bound to uphold the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions and laws, to correct these inequities through an immediate county-wide property value reassessment, and overhaul of Clearfield County’s taxing scheme. With the recent economic downturn in our nation, which, of course, likewise affects residents of Clearfield County, now is indeed the critical time for action on this very important issue, so that tax burdens are again fairly distributed among the County’s landowners.
“Please review this issue with the Clearfield County Commissioners and provide us with their response within 30 days of the date hereof. We hope that adequate assurances will be forthcoming that Clearfield County will promptly proceed to effectuate a reassessment. In the interim, our clients’ properties should be reassessed and their taxes adjusted in accordance with the applicable legal standards, so as to ensure taxation fairness and parity. If not, our clients are prepared to institute litigation and we are confident that they will be successful. Of course, it is in the best interest of our clients and indeed, all residents of Clearfield County, to avoid the expense and delay inherent in the litigation process, if possible. We trust that you and the County Commissioners will concur in this regard.”
The letter is signed by Darryl R. Slimak and John W. Blasko. The full version of the letter is available at the Clearfield County Courthouse Annex.
In a letter dated March 19, 2009, two of the Clearfield County Commissioners responded to the Slimak/Blasko letter. The commissioners’ letter stated that it found the Slimak/Blasko letter useful in their current discussions of assessment issues and tax fairness within Clearfield County.
“Although David S. Barr of 21st Century Appraisers Inc. is a renowned tax assessor, he is far from impartial in this matter. Mr. Barr’s company has solicited Clearfield County in the past to provide reassessment services which shows a clear conflict of interest. Using Mr. Barr’s analysis of Clearfield County’s assessment values would be akin to a bank using a real estate agent’s appraisal of a property for a loan.
“Please advise your clients that while the Clearfield County Commissioners are very concerned about tax fairness, current assessment laws in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania make it difficult to adjust established values. The only remedy offered is a costly countywide reassessment which we estimate will cost in excess of $2 million. The current economic crises the nation is suffering along with losses in the local economy make it difficult to justify the cost to our local taxpayers.
“Additionally, with the uncertain economic times, the majority of the Clearfield County Commissioners are hesitant to do a reassessment which would increase the tax burden for a large portion of our property owners. Based on past countywide reassessment efforts in Pennsylvania, it can be expected the reassessment process will cause assessment values to increase on at least 1/3 of the parcels with 1/3 of the values decreasing and the remaining 1/3 remaining unchanged. Using the 1/3 expectation, this would see an increase in value which impacts an increase in taxes for approximately 22,000 parcels in Clearfield County.
“In conclusion, based on the opinions provided above the majority of the Clearfield County Commissioners are not inclined to support countywide reassessment at this time.”
The letter is signed by Commissioners Sobel and McCracken.
McMillen stated that she did not sign the letter due to some of the lines being changed. She pointed that all of the commissioners are against reassessment as it stands, they just disagree on how it should be done.
McMillen also noted that the commissioners would like to hear from people in the community to gain their input on the issue.
“We can’t just sit and do nothing,” said McMillen.