Door-to-door reassessment could cost $50 million and bring a wave of appeals.

Council’s assessment practices committee did not come to any conclusions when it  met Sept. 14 to continue discussion about the looming county-wide property reassessments.

The last Allegheny County property assessment occurred in 2012 after a court ordered the county to do so. 

It is now compelled again after Senior Armstrong County Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Valasek ruled in August that the county must start the reassessment process by July 2027 and conclude it by 2032.

The Government Review Commission additionally issued a recommendation to conduct reassessments on a four-year schedule during the first year of each term for the county executive. It also said the county should expand programs to limit sudden increases for lower-income homeowners.

Council Member Dan Grzybek of Bethel Park introduced legislation in March that would put the county on a three-year reassessment schedule beginning in 2028. Council held seven public hearings on the matter throughout the summer. 

According to Grzybek, experts say the process could cost $50 million for door-to-door assessments and $1 million to $5 million for a computer-aided mass appraisal. The county traditionally uses the door-to-door method performed by a contractor. It will be required to do so this time as well in keeping with the court order.

Chief Deputy County Solicitor William White pointed out that the process will come with an onslaught of appeals. “As it is, we already get literally thousands every year,” he said. “We have two attorneys in our office, and that’s all they do.”

Council’s clerk, Jared Barker, added that there are approximately 60,000 property records in the county’s database that already need to be corrected for errors.

The committee opted not to send the proposed legislation to the full council for a vote until additional, ongoing lawsuits conclude.