But pro-reassessment advocate Ray Geiger, a South Whitehall Realtor who wrote an op-ed on the topic, is taking the Morning Call (and Cunningham) to task in this email.
Your quote yesterday (and the headline was similar): “The changing landscape favors higher-priced properties over lower-priced ones”.He adds tht Cunningham's veto has resulted in "a shorter window for taxpayers to make informal appeals. If not for the veto the notices were expected to go out around February 4th, now they are going out February 23rd, and the deadline on informal appeals is March 16th—reducing the window by two weeks or so---thereby potentially risking more FORMAL appeals that cost more to the County to administer, and potentially clog up the already overburdened court system."
What is your data source for the above statement?
To the best of my knowledge, the County has only released the chart you offered which shows a geographic/municipal breakdown. Where is a chart that illustrates the trend among higher-priced properties versus lower-priced properties? Just because the smaller Boroughs illustrate increases, does NOT mean that higher-priced properties are favored overall.
The County Administration on January 25th released the following---the existing PRD (price related differential) under the existing assessments is 1.09 and following the reassessment the PRD will be 1.00. I suggest you bone up on statistics and learn that statistic CLEARLY means that lower-priced properties are favored in the reassessment---NOT the FALSEHOOD that your headline screams to agitate the pubic
From this statistical FACT, one may more accurately conjecture, the declines in lower priced properties in the City of Allentown and throughout the County far outweigh the increases in the Boroughs--suggesting that the increases in the Boroughs are due to other factors---i.e. maybe, just maybe they’ve been “underassessed” since 1991?
Do you know anyone that EVER appeals an “underassessment”—and if County officials let things slide for twenty years---why not just keep quiet about an “underassessment”?
When the County releases the entire database—we will know the whole story—but the Administration continues to inflame rather than inform—and the Morning Call is a useful puppet.
Wouldn't that be a reason to delay reassessment for a year, as Cunningham asked?
11 comments:
Bernie
Your photos are fabulous. They add such a flair to your writing. You really are an outstanding communicator. Where do you get this stuff?
No, delaying a year would only exacerbate the issue. Those under-assessed homes aren't going to miraculously be closer to their true market levels next year.
AND---what makes you think the market is going to change any significant level next year---waiting was a HOPE--not the reality. With your and Cunningham's line of thinking you are continuing to punish everyone else for the underassessments now being illustrated by the recently released district-by-district chart.
Besides--you miss the point--the headline and article in the Morning Call were WRONG--a statistically proven FACT that you cannot dispute no matter how much you write.
I don't deny that higher priced homes are favored--the PRICE RELATED DIFFERNTIAL DENIES IT. I simply interpret it.
Bottom line is that the reassessment is really foreboding news for the City's financial health.
I think the consequences of assessment are being overshadowed by the "should we?" debate of actually doing it.
From Dennis Pearson, President of EARN ...
The East Allentown Rittersville Neighborhood Association met Monday February 20, 2012 and participants at the meeting were told this on plans for Lehigh County Assessment
Lehigh County Council voted on countywide reassessment against the desires of the County Executive. The Council voted 8-1 to override the Executive’s veto. Instead of being assessed 50% of the assessed value it will now be based on 100% of the assessed value with the millage being dropped by half. This will affect the city and school district taxes as well. In the City this will be complicated by the separate values for land and buildings in regards to the city taxes. Some taxes will rise, some will fall, and the appeals will probably be numerous.
Please note --- The East Allentown Rittersville Association is an incorporated association comprising the 14th and 15th Wards of Allentown ... We also affectionally call this area the non-charted Borough of Penn's Manor. East Allentown - Rittersville is also an 501 3 (c) group being the administrative arm for the Lehigh Valley for Regional Livability which one produced the Lehigh Valley Common Sense Herald on a regular basis. EARN itself is the proud producer of the EARN Frontier newsletters.
The larger press rarely covers our issues. Thinking the orphan territory is not important enough to cover.
@7:30: I steal them.
"Penn's Manor"
Who made that up? I rpobobly know 100 people on the East Side and I gaurentee not one of them ever heard that.
cunningham may know more about politics, but geiger certainly knows way more about assements and property values.
Bernie --- I concur. One of your best pics yet. I also like the "Pawlowski as Emperor" pic.
some of your best work yet.
anon 10;15 --- A large part of Hanover Township which once included Ritterville which is now part of Allentown contained a manor owned by the Penn Family called Fermer. Thus the name Penn's Manor could bring more respect to the area.
P.S there are more then 16,000 stories in East Allentown-Rittersville, East Port, Bridgetown, Snuff town or whatever name we choose in the future call ourselves.And I do not doubt that there are still people on the East Side that still don't know who I am. Especially the new arrivals who run for office saying they live on the East Side but know nothing of our history.
P.S.S -- With place nameslike Central Park, Broad Street, Park Place and Manhattan here we have more right to call ourselves the Little Apple then Downtown Allentown did when they tried to promote the concept.
Dennis Pearson -
"cunningham may know more about politics, but geiger certainly knows way more about assements and property values"
geiger knows what's good for geiger.
And Cunningham knows whats good for Cunningham". Mainly how to stay in a public payed job.
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