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Experts tell council a three‑year reassessment cycle balances accuracy and cost
Summary
Presenters including a property tax attorney and an economics professor recommended a three‑year reassessment cadence, urged funding for the Office of Property Assessments and highlighted data-quality and cost tradeoffs between manual and modernized methods.
Jack Billings of Pro Housing Pittsburgh cautioned against an old‑school, labor‑intensive approach to reassessment that, he said, could cost “roughly $10,000,000 per year” and emphasized the need to fix county data before a full cycle.
Sharon DePaolo, a partner who practices Pennsylvania assessment law, told the committee that “every three years is the sweet spot in the industry” because it captures market change without excessive administrative cost. Professor Robert Strauss urged investing in OPA operations and public outreach, saying the county must “follow best practices, fund the work properly, ensure transparency, and hold officials accountable.”
The experts repeatedly recommended clear public communication, standardized inspections and investment in data systems to reduce appeals and litigation risks. They also said a modernized approach can bring down the price tag compared with historically quoted multi‑million‑dollar estimates for manual reassessments.
