The first phase of the countywide reassessment approved by Lycoming County commissioners late last year has begun as data collectors begin visiting property owners in some municipalities to obtain the information necessary to determine property values.

The last reassessment in the county was done in 2004 and property values ​​have changed dramatically since then.

“You’re talking about 20 years of market fluctuations and changes and that fact would lead you to believe that the assessed values ​​no longer represent fair and accurate valuations across the board,” said Steve Wise, senior project supervisor for Tyler Technologies, Inc., the company hired to perform the reassessment.

“The goal is to have a fair assessment, a fair market value. So when the period between assessments is this long, your consistency is not where it should be,” he added.

Reassessments are carried out periodically to ensure that the tax burden is distributed fairly among taxpayers so that no one pays more or less than they should for their fair share of taxes.

Various economic trends and factors can affect market values.

COVID, Wise said, “has changed the dynamic of how people work. »

“That was one of the biggest things, and it happened between the last revaluation and today, so we want to know how those economic factors led to potential changes in market value.” Sage said.

Once the assessment is completed, the new assessed values ​​will come into effect in 2028.

“The information we collect now is for later. It’s not for today, tomorrow or next week. Sage emphasized.

“But the first step is we need to see what we have before we can evaluate it and put a value on it.” he added.

Many people equate reassessment with having to pay higher taxes, but that’s not always the case.

“Much of this issue can be resolved by the county operating under a revenue-neutral reassessment, meaning that the taxing jurisdiction budgets the exact same amount of property tax revenue dollars for the budget year to come only for the current evaluation”, Sage said.

This means that if a taxing agency, such as the county, uses $1 million in property tax revenue in the current year, it will only be able to use $1 million the following year in order to be revenue neutral. terms of income. If they plan to use more tax dollars in their next fiscal year compared to the current year that would exceed the current revenue-neutral amount and they would have to hold a public hearing and get that approved in order to spend this amount.

“Revaluation neither increases nor decreases tax revenue. The total tax burden is basically distributed more equitably – that’s the main thing. The annual assessment of a property must reflect its fair market value. Wise said, adding: “That’s our job.”

“The state requires us to assess values ​​that match market values, so our job is to make sure we assess at a fair market value.” he explained.

As market values ​​increase or decrease, assessed values ​​may not reflect these changes.

“This means some taxpayers could be paying more than their fair share. They may be overvalued. A reassessment does not necessarily mean that your assessment will increase. If your contribution increases, it does not necessarily mean your taxes will increase. » he said.

“You can have an increase in value and not necessarily represent an increase in taxes” he said.

The market dictates the value of a home or commercial property. If there is a decrease in the value of a certain category of property, taxes will likely decrease. If the change is similar to the average for that property category, taxes likely won’t change. However, if it is higher than average for a particular property category, the owner will most likely see an increase in taxes.

Another taxpayer concern is that the revaluation will encourage the government to spend more.

“The county, municipalities and school districts are limited by law to the amount of additional revenue that can be generated by each assessment” Sage said.

“As a result of the reassessment, property tax rates will be adjusted to ensure that these taxing agencies do not collect more than is permitted by law. Millage rates will be adjusted to take into account the new assessed values. he said.

He emphasized again that the revaluation neither increases nor decreases tax revenues, but only “distributes the total tax burden more equitably by setting new taxable values. »

“While the overall impact on a community is capped by state law, individual property owners may see their taxes increase, decrease, or stay the same,” he added.

The new reassessment will also record new improvements to properties, but it will not be used to discover code violations.