By BRETT R. WHITLING
Clarion News Writer
Two trailer park owners voiced their opposition this week to a plan by Clarion County commissioners to eliminate the yearly depreciation on residential trailers and mobile homes.
In the past, trailers and mobile homes received a yearly 5 percent physical depreciation allowance on its real estate tax up to 80 percent.
After recently being advised the process is identified by the state as “spot assessing” and prohibited by law, the commissioners set out to end the depreciation.
Cherin Abdelsamie, the chief assessor for the county, explained depreciating trailers without depreciating houses is considered spot assessing and is illegal.
“What we’re trying to do, is to be fair,” Abdelsamie said. “What we are going to do is we are assessing the trailers and homes at the time being for their physical depreciation.”
Izzi asked if the county was planning to go out and reappraise the mobile homes but Abdelsamie clarified the county is not reappraising anything.
“We are not reassessing anything that is on the books,” Abdelsamie said. “It’s not going to affect anything you own now. What you have now is going to stay the same.”
Izzi said his concern was not for the future of trailers and mobile homes.
When Clarion County Commissioner Ted Tharan told Izzi the state government informed the county it is illegal to spot assess, Izzi questioned the validity of the statement and recommended the topic to be researched by the county’s attorney.
Another owner of a trailer park, Matt Steinman, asked for clarification on how spot assessing is done.
Abdelsamie explained if she saw an addition on a property that does not show up on her records and she goes to the office and adds it, it is considered spot assessing. But if she notices it, checks her records and revisits the property afterwards, it is not spot assessing.
“You are currently receiving a tax break that you should not be receiving,” said Abdelsamie. “Why should I specifically go out after trailers to depreciate them and not depreciate the house that’s sitting next to them?”
Abdelsamie said trailer and mobile home owners still have the right to depreciate the home through the same process as done for housing.
“We have a tax appeal board and as people request to lower the taxes on their home, they go through an appeal process,” Abdelsamie said. “It would be the same thing for the trailer.”
With Resolution No. 12 being passed, any trailers or mobile homes appraised and sold will no longer receive a yearly 5 percent depreciation.