{"id":15258603,"date":"2026-08-17T19:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/court-allegheny-county-must-reassess-property-changing-tax-bills-by-2032\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T19:33:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T23:33:50","slug":"court-allegheny-county-must-reassess-property-changing-tax-bills-by-2032","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/court-allegheny-county-must-reassess-property-changing-tax-bills-by-2032\/","title":{"rendered":"Court: Allegheny County must reassess property, changing tax bills by 2032"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tax bills on properties in Allegheny County \u2014 many of which have been frozen since 2013 \u2014 will be reevaluated in the coming few years and could dramatically change in 2032, following a judge\u2019s ruling issued Monday.<\/p>\n

Counties set assessments on all taxable properties, meant to mirror market values. They are used to determine what owners pay annually to the county, school districts and municipalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judge Kenneth Valasek, chosen to preside over assessment litigation by the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, ordered that the county begin property reassessment by July 2027. The court order comes days after the county Government Review Commission\u2019s recommendation<\/a> to establish routine property reassessments every four years. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased with the court order. This is the relief we were seeking,\u201d said Ira Weiss who represents Churchill homeowner Flavia E. Laun<\/a> in her case<\/a> against the county. Weiss also serves as legal counsel for the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), which sued the county in pursuit of a property reassessment in 2024<\/a>. That case is on appeal before the Commonwealth Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Flavia Laun outside of her Churchill home in 2022. Its assessment is at the center of a lawsuit filed Jan. 29, 2025, that demands a property reassessment throughout Allegheny County. (Photo by Clare Sheedy\/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Weiss added that he thinks the decision will benefit not only PPS but all governments in the county and property owners. He said the current property reassessment system<\/a> is in \u201cterrible condition\u201d and he hopes County Council will come up with an ordinance on regular property reassessments. He hopes routine property reassessments will depoliticize the issue, which was also an aim of the commission\u2019s report from last week.<\/p>\n

The county last reassessed all properties within its borders some 15 years ago, and the resulting values have been in place for many properties since 2013. Many assessments have changed, though, due to assessment appeals filed by either property owners or taxing bodies \u2014 often school districts. The resulting mix of long-frozen assessments and those determined by appeals has resulted in wildly different tax bills for properties that are similar<\/a> and even next door to each other.<\/p>\n

Despite attempts by state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, to pass legislation<\/a> to make property reassessments routine across every county in the commonwealth, Pennsylvania remains the only state in the country that does not mandate routine property reassessments. <\/p>\n

County Executive Sara Innamorato wrote in a statement that Pennsylvania would join other states in routine property assessments in an \u201cideal world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we are still working within an imperfect system, Allegheny County understands today\u2019s court order and will comply in a professional manner with the direction to conduct a countywide reassessment within the next five years and every five years thereafter,\u201d wrote Innamorato. <\/p>\n

She wrote that she hopes the move will \u201ccreate a lasting, transparent, and accessible reassessment system that puts the residents of Allegheny County first.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in the court order?<\/p>\n