Cunningham Strikes Out on Reassessment. Or Did He?

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham said he felt like he was at the plate in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and eight runs behind. Like most who find themselves in that situation, Cunningham struck out in his attempt to dissuade Commissioners from overriding his veto of an Ordinance that starts the reassessment process. They voted against him, 8-1. Tom Creighton was the sole Commissioner who was willing to delay reassessment another year.

Cunningham certainly struck out with Commissioners and the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors, but with Allentown homeowners, he may have hit a home run. That ball has not landed.

Before Commissioners voted, they gave the Exec his swings. Ironically, it is Cunnigham who started the reassessment process himself. But in January, when he received the actual data, he put on the brakes for two reasons.

First, Cunningham noted, as we all know, that the real estate market is sluggish, especially with higher priced homes. Prices there have dropped in recent years. So for those people, reassessment is probably a good thing because values will be reduced. But for people with lower priced homes, like those in Allentown and the boroughs, it's probably a bad time to reassess, especially since there is no way to incrementally increase assessments for people who have a hardship. "You will get your bill, and you will have to pay it," he explained.

Second,  Cunningham is concerned about the impact of reassessment on nine different school districts and twenty-five municipalities in the County. Some of those school districts, like Northern Lehigh and Northwestern, have little in the way of commercial and industrial property. That will ultimately mean higher taxes for residential owners. "The individual's tax bill is all that matters to him," Cunningham observed, and it will be an unpleasant surprise for some.

Cunningham pleaded with Commissioners to wait just one year.

The Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors, appraiser Ray Geiger (read his op-ed) and two tea party members urged Commissioners to override Cunningham. But another group of people are in no rush. They're members of a special interest group called homeowners.

Rosemarie Dorward, who lives on 16th Street in Allentown, complained that ordinary people who have lived and worked in Allentown their entire lives "are being penalized. We don't get any tax breaks. ... Do we want more homes for sale in Allentown? You can't get people to buy now because of the school district." She urged Commissioners to listen to Cunningham and wait. "We don't need to tackle this right now. We have other major problems in this City and this economy."

Jeff Boore, who lives on 21st Street in the Queen City, asked, "Do you think we have more money? I have to tell you that personally, I'm at the limit. Where do you think this money's gonna' come from? You drive the value of my home up? That's a question. Does anybody have an answer?"

After an uncomfortable silence, Commissioner Vic Mazziotti agreed there's a lot of confusion about reassessment. He told Boore there will be no additional revenue to the County. While values may go up, "the tax rate will go down proportionately to generate the same amount of revenue. On the average home, the taxes will actually go down, and the reason for that is that there's been a shift in value to commercial and industrial property." Mazziotti added that reassessment is "strictly for fairness."

In contrast to Cunningham, Mazziotti argued that higher priced homes are actually under-assessed, while lower-priced homes are over-assessed.

Mazziotti's explanation brought Richard Sayre, who lives on N. 16th Street, to the podium. "It's he said, she said. What's the right way? ... We need answers. How can you pass something if you don't have all the answers of how it's going to affect everyone?"

In a brief discussion among Commissioners, cut short after Commissioner Percy Dougherty called for the vote, Tom Creighton was the sole Commissioner who thought the case had been made for waiting a year. Creighton noted that in each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, assessment is done a little differently, In Blair County, Creighton observed, assessments are quite simple - $1 per square foot. That County has used that model for the last 50 years. "I feel we should delay in case the rules change," he concluded.

Dougherty, after pointing out that reassessment should be statewide and not county-by-county, inconsistently argued the County should nevertheless move ahead.

Scott Ott, noting the state is unlikely to make any changes any time soon, stated, "We can't pin our future on hopes."

In contrast to Mazziotti, who argued that reassessment is tax neutral, Commissioner David Jones delivered a brief sermon noting that the County must reassess to combat a "continuous decline in tax revenue."

After voting to over-ride Cunningham, Commissioners began making promises they would work with taxpayers who are adversely impacted, as they filed from the room.

"All your input is valuable," Chairman Brad Osborne told homeowners who left unhappy.

Since reassessment are universally unpopular, it is likely that Commissioners will be seeing many more unhappy homeowners in the months to come. But instead of blaming Cunningham, they'll be pointing angry fingers at Commissioners for moving ahead despite the recommendation of the County Executive.

I guess they showed him.

That's why I think Cunningham may have hit a home run last night, despite striking out.