Veto override withdrawn for Allegheny County property assessment bill

After a series of successful efforts overriding Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto, another veto override was withdrawn Tuesday.

Allegheny County Council passed a bill in July to establish a new chief assessment officer appointed by council that would render calculations each year of the county’s property tax ratios.

That bill was vetoed by Fitzgerald, who said the bill “contravenes numerous provisions” of the county’s Home-Rule Charter and attempts to give council power over the executive branch in an arena it should not. The chief assessment officer is currently appointed by the Allegheny County Executive.

Council passed the bill in July by a 9-6 vote, but veto overrides need 10 votes. Council President Pat Catena, D-Carnegie, led the initial effort, but was not present at the council meeting on Tuesday.

The override effort was withdrawn.

Council Vice President John Palmiere, D-Baldwin, said the override effort had a time limit and so won’t be successful for this bill.

But he added that the property assessment issue will be revisited sometime this year.

“This issue isn’t over,” Palmiere said.

The property assessment bill came after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alan Hertzberg’s ruling that said the county “failed to administer the property tax assessment appeal system in a just and impartial manner,” and some property owners were given second chances on their property tax appeals.

Catena said in July that he introduced the legislation because he believed Fitzgerald’s appointed chief assessment officer wasn’t qualified and was responsible for the “fiasco” that led to the court intervening in the county’s property tax situation.

School districts and municipalities filed several thousand property assessment appeals in Allegheny County this year, resulting in owners of those properties seeing higher assessed values and, in turn, higher property tax bills.

During the appeal process, Allegheny County was using a common level ratio of 81.1% — meaning that a property seeing an appeal would have its assessment changed to about 81% of its fair market value.

The judge’s ruling last September reduced the common level ratio from 81.1% to 63.5%, which should reduce the property tax bills on appealed properties.

The Fitzgerald administration has defended its actions. Spokeswoman Amie Downs said in July that Fitzgerald has sponsored town halls to assist taxpayers during their appeals, and he approved legislation to extend appeals.

“This administration has gone 12 years with no tax increase to county taxpayers,” Downs said. “In that same time, property values have increased 2.5 times over what they were in 2012. The county executive fought the last court reassessment because he understood the impact it would have on taxpayers.”