Many Still Have Assessment Questions

The to Allegheny County property owners have many residents of , and asking about what information they need to challenge those assessments.

County and local officials are organizing some informational meetings to help owners understand that process and how to appeal what .

Allegheny County Councilman Vince Gastgeb, for example, is holding a town hall meeting this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bethel Park High School auditorium.

In addition, the Burns White law firm is holding a free, informational event for southern suburban residents from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Green Tree Borough. Presented by Jennifer J. Mislanovich, an attorney who has represented commercial and residential property owners at all levels of Allegheny County assessment hearings, the seminar will cover things like how the appeals process works, who can appeal and how some aggressive school districts might handle the appeals.

There will be time for a Q-and-A session at the end of Mislanovich's presentation.

Still, confusion remains in the process of how the county came to assign correct assessments of each property and what people should do to fight them.

Multiple county residents showed anger on Feb. 29 while meeting at the to learn more about the process and how to appeal the assessments. Many of the 100 people who attended the meeting didn't understand the process and felt it was unfair, said Joe Hirsch, a veteran real estate agent with Keller Williams, who helped to organize the meeting.

"The system is terribly broken, and my hope was people coming out of that meeting would come to that conclusion," Hirsch said. "This isn't fair, and there's no way to make it fair."

Hirsch, who lives in Scott, thinks that the only way to combat the county is to to prove the value of a property.

"You better have strong evidence, and you better bring an appraisal," Hirsch said of what many have told him of the appeals process.

But Allegheny County Councilman Michael J. Finnerty, who also attended the Scott meeting, wondered if that would work because, as he says, the entire process is flawed. Still, Finnerty thinks that residents who bring comparable properties that show severe discrepancies should have a strong case.

He strongly suggested that South Hills property owners automatically file a formal appeal before April 2 because he's not sure if the informal hearing will make a difference.

Finnerty said that he plans to hold another informational session at the after St. Patrick's Day. The date and time for that meeting will be scheduled soon.

There is also a town hall meeting scheduled for Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Community College of Allegheny County's Boyce Campus Lecture Hall in Monroeville.

Every Allegheny County Council district will have a town hall meeting to assist homeowners, according to a press release from Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

Did you receive your new assessment? What was your reaction? Tell us in the comments section below.

This article originally appeared on the .

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