Jun 16, 2016 5 min read

Editor’s note: This story has been modified from a previous version to clarify the postmark deadline of appeals.

It’s an issue with which commissioners in Washington County haven’t had to deal with in 35 years: the raft of appeals that follow a countywide property reassessment.

The target to send out final assessments is July 1.

People appeal with hopes they can lower their property tax bills from the county, their municipality and school district.

The board of commissioners and Washington County Salary Board – where the commissioners make up the majority – on Thursday prepared for the appeals process in several ways.

A 13-page document setting rules for the procedure notes appeals can be filed after July 1, and sets a postmark deadline of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 10th. The appeals, which must be in writing, can be mailed to Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals, Courthouse Square, 100 W. Beau St., Suite 205, Washington, Pa., 15301.

The same deadline applies to appeals filed in person. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The county’s period for formal appeals will run from Aug. 8 through Oct. 31, according to its contract with Tyler Technologies Inc. of Moraine, Ohio.

What is known as the “aggrieved party” must appear at a hearing, generally limited to 15 minutes because of the expected volume, before the board of assessment appeals. Attorneys licensed in Pennsylvania may represent property owners. If an appellant who was notified of a hearing date fails to appear at the hearing, the appeal is considered abandoned.

At a hearing, the sole matter at issue will be the fair market value of the property. The rules state “testimony regarding taxes, tax increases, percentage of assessment increase, financial ability to pay and related complaints will not be permitted.”

Assessments are expressed as 100 percent of the dollar value of the property as of July 1, 2015.

When people hope to lower an assessment because of a nuisance or other factor, they must be prepared to document the impact of the problem through the use of market sales recorded in the assessment office. Because an assessment appeals board is made up of three people, all written presentations, evidence and documents must be submitted in triplicate. Those filing appeals are also encouraged to produce a photograph of their own property and also that of the comparable property. One copy of a written report regarding value of a property should be submitted at least 10 days before a hearing date, and two additional copies should be brought to the hearing and distributed. The boards ask all three copies should not be delivered simultaneously.

The assessment office will be represented at the hearing by an expert witness, and the property owner is subject to cross-examination.

“Written appraisal reports are strongly recommended,” according to the policy.

The county asked Tyler Technologies to provide two “assessment specialists” to assist in complex assessment appeals. The cost is $1,200 per day per specialist, assuming 55 days of hearings, for a total cost of $132,000. Tyler can substitute personnel, so the contract actually specifies “person days,” and allows Tyler to invoice the county monthly for services performed.

The appellant’s expert witness is to hold valid certification with the Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers, and the credential should be submitted to the assessment office 10 days before a hearing.

When a property owner receives a written decision from the board of assessment appeals, he or she has 30 days in which to appeal the case to Washington County Court. The Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals and its solicitor must also receive a copy of the appeal petition. Serving the Washington County commissioners or the county solicitor is not required.

At the Washington County Salary Board meeting Thursday, the commissioners and County Controller Michael Namie approved the hiring of eight reassessment administrative specialists at a rate of $16 per hour. Six of the people will work from June 30 through Aug. 31, and the other two will work from June 30 through Oct. 31.

Scott Fergus, director of administration for the county, said the extra help will be needed to schedule hearings as the appeal period begins, and once appeals are underway, the two remaining employees will serve as “runners.”

The salary board suspended the $1,000 per month salary of members of the permanent board of assessment appeals, which is made up of John Rheel, Sonny Spossey and William West. They and members of auxiliary boards will be paid $30 an hour from Aug. 10 to Oct. 31.

The county will also pay the three regulars and auxiliary board members $250 per day for training conducted by Tyler Technologies for two days next week.

The anticipated number of appeals that will go on to Washington County Court is just one reason the court hopes to have its two senior judges, William Nalitz and John C. Reed remain on duty following the confirmation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s nominee, Damon Faldowski, to fill a vacant seat on the bench. The salary board created a full-time law clerk’s and a judge’s secretary positions paying $41,733 and $43,399 per year from the date of approval by the State Senate through Dec. 31, 2017.

The senior judges and part of their staff’s salaries are borne by state taxpayers.

The Washington and McGuffey school districts filed suit in Washington County Court in 2008, demanding the first countywide property reassessment since 1981. The commissioners entered into a $6.9 million contract with Tyler Technoligies in 2013 after they exhausted court appeals.