About five percent of the properties in Clarion County have been visited for reassessment.
Sarah Garner, the project manager for Massachusetts-based Vision Government Solutions, told Clarion County commissioners Tuesday that Clarion Borough has been processed and assessors have begun their work in Clarion Township.
Garner said the assessors have been well received and there have been no problems. She added that the assessors will drive cars that will identify them.
Garner said Vision has its “core staff” in place. She said there are currently 14 assessors and an office administrator.
The assessors use a laser system to measure the exterior of the houses. Permanent outside additions such as storage sheds or in-ground swimming pools will be assessed.
“We will annotate the individual characteristics of each property,” said Garner.
The physical assessment is the first step in attaining a new valuation of the property. Once the physical data has been collected, real estate market studies will be conducted to develop formulas for estimating the fair market value.
“The software will be installed by the end of the month,” said Garner.
There are about 18,000 properties in the county.
Garner said the reassessment won’t result in a universal tax increase.
Garner said about one-third of the property owners will see a decrease in taxes, one-third will stay the same and one-third will see an increase.
She said on average the tax base will increase, which could result in the reduction of property taxes by as much as two percent. The final valuation will be based on the property values in 2024.
She said there is an anti-windfall provision that prohibits the taxing body from excessive gains.
County commissioner Ted Tharan said the reassessment is necessary to “create an equitable distribution of the tax load.” There hasn’t been a physical reassessment of the county since 1975.
The total cost of the process is $1.7 million.
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