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Allegheny County Council says more legal work needed on assessment appeals bills

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Council says more legal work needed on assessment appeals bills

Tuesday also marked Sam DeMarco’s last meeting before taking a job with Sen. Dave McCormick's office

County Council has decided to refer two bills related to property assessments and appeals for further review after a committee chair said further tweaks were needed.

Councilwoman Suzanne Filiaggi, who chairs the council’s committee on assessment practices, said she and others had have discussed the bills with Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s administration. The proposals, sponsored by Councilman Bob Macey, need more legal review, Ms. Filiaggi said.

Mr. Macey’s bills aim to improve the process around property assessment appeals through a restructuring of some staff between the Office of Property Assessments, under the jurisdiction of the county executive, and the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review, an independent board of part-time members.

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Eight staff members from the office would be under the jurisdiction of the board of appeals — something that Mike Suley, a chair of the board who also formerly led the Office of Property Assessments, said would make the appeals process more efficient for property owners.

Sam DeMarco III, At Large Council Representative, sits in a city council meeting inside the Allegheny County Courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Downtown. Mr. DeMarco is stepping down from council Tuesday night to join Sen. Dave McCormick's team.
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At a committee meeting earlier this month, multiple county officials agreed with Mr. Suley that shifting eight staff members would make it easier for homeowners and attorneys to get information about the appeals process.

That bill also stated that more employees could be moved in “the case of a year of reassessment or a year where more than 15,000 appeals are filed.”

The second bill deletes a line in county code, which currently allows the office of property assessments to process and schedule all assessment appeals for the appeals board. That way, the board can now process and schedule the appeals.

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Ms. Filiaggi declined to say after Tuesday’s meeting what amendments might be added in cooperation with Ms. Innamorato’s administration. She added that council had 10 votes — a veto-proof majority — to pass them as-is, but is working with county officials to make Mr. Macey’s proposals better. Council members also need to work within the perimeters of the administrative code and county charter, she said.

“One way is basically to, I don't want to say re-create [the appeals board], but create it in such a fashion that it is now again an independent entity,” Ms. Filiaggi said. “To be an independent entity, there has to be a bit more than just shifting employees.”

Mr. Suley said Tuesday that he is confident the legislation will pass with amendments, and that they will create a better appeals environment for property owners.

“For the first time under home rule [charter government], property owners in Allegheny County will have an independent appeals process,” he said after Tuesday’s meeting.

They can appeal any decision the board makes to the courts, but most abide by the appeals board’s decision, he said.

Ms. Innamorato’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Property assessments and appeals have been of interest to homeowners and local government officials since the 2023 election, when Ms. Innamorato was running for the county’s top office.

Appeals by owners of multiple high-rise buildings in Downtown have resulted in the reduction of property taxes owed to city and county government, valued at millions of dollars in refunds. Pittsburgh Public Schools sued the county last April, arguing that a countywide property reassessment is needed because the current system is “inherently regressive and inequitable in nature.”

Ms. Filiaggi said she aims to have amended bills before the full council for a vote in around the next two months.

At Tuesday’s meeting, County Councilman Sam DeMarco formally announced his resignation. Mr. DeMarco, an at-large Republican member, is joining Sen. Dave McCormick’s office as southwestern Pennsylvania regional director.

Mr. DeMarco was presented with a commemorative tile from the original roof of the county courthouse, dating back to the 1880s, by former Republican council members. He talked about how his late grandmother worked for the county as a custodial worker cleaning areas around the courthouse.

“I always talk about how proud she would be to see … her grandson, sit up here and help negotiate and vote on $3 billion-plus budgets in my time on council, trying to do the best I can,” said Mr. DeMarco, fighting back tears.

First Published: January 15, 2025, 7:31 p.m.
Updated: January 16, 2025, 5:29 p.m.

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