Jefferson County votes to seek DCED strategic management grant to fund tax-assessment system

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution authorizing an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development(DCED) strategic management planning program for a camera-system and tax-assessment modernization project, the board chair announced. The motion, which the board seconded and approved, cites a project cost of $200,000 with $20,000 of county funds allocated as a local match.

County officials described the proposal as part of a multi-phase strategic management plan the county began in an earlier DCED phase. A committee member said outside consultants conducted a “complaint audit of accounting operations” during phase one and recommended improvements, including a Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system for the tax-assessment department to automate real-estate value calculations and reduce manual workload. “This system would help them to calculate real estate values for property tax purposes. It will help with efficiency and not eating up so much time calculating any of these things by hand,” the committee member said.

Commissioners noted the DCED program can provide funds for multiple years under a five-year plan. One member stated the countywould be required to provide a local match, citing that the countymatch is “a dime to the dollar.” Officials said the competitive pool is limited to jurisdictions that previously participated in the program(phase 1 or phase 2), which the board described as improving the county

If awarded, commissioners said the funding would help the tax-assessment office move away from manual calculations toward an automated appraisal system, which officials said could improve accuracy and free staff time. The board did not set an implementation timeline at the meeting; the motion authorized the application for DCED review.