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Allegheny County council hears push for mandatory three-year reassessments
Summary
Council members and residents heard testimony supporting an ordinance that would require countywide property reassessments every three years; sponsors said it aims to correct long-standing inequities while maintaining revenue neutrality and protections for vulnerable homeowners.
Suzanne Filiaggi, chair of the Allegheny County Council's assessment practices committee, opened the public hearing and framed the proposed ordinance as a move from a base-year system to regular three-year countywide reassessments, emphasizing that state law and the county's charter require revenue neutrality when reassessments take effect.
Councilman Grisbeck, the bill sponsor, described the measure as a straightforward mandate for reassessments on a triennial cycle and said the intent is to stop wide disparities in tax burdens. "There is absolutely no reason why my neighbors who live down the street from me in a virtually identical house should be paying 30% more in real estate taxes than I do simply because I was fortunate enough to buy my house in 2018," Grisbeck said. He cited an example that West Allegheny refunded about $21,500,000 in appeals largely to commercial property owners, which he said demonstrates how appeals and old assessments shift burdens onto homeowners.
The hearing included no formal vote; council and staff reiterated that the hearings are part of fact-finding before next steps. Chair Filiaggi said council is seeking input from taxpayers, school districts, assessment professionals and municipalities to design a reassessment process that is "fair, transparent, understandable, effective, and efficient." The committee noted existing protections such as the recently passed long-term owner-occupancy program (LOOP), which limits how much a homeowner can face in a single reassessment cycle to reduce displacement risk for long-time residents.
Next steps: the council will continue the public hearing series (including sessions scheduled in Wilkinsburg and at CCAC's Northside campus) and incorporate feedback into legislative drafting and implementation planning before returning to the full council for formal consideration.
