TodayCumberland County assessment ratio falls
Minority commissioner renews call for reassessment
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Article RatingCumberland County Commissioner Rick Rovegno says it's time to consider a countywide reassessment.
The county's common level ratio - a market tool to compare property values - was recently certified by the state Tax Equalization Board at 82 percent for 2006.
Once the CLR rate drops below 85 percent, property owners have a virtually ironclad case for an assessment appeal under state law.
“Once you fall below 85, disparities in the effective rates of taxation will start to occur,” Rovegno explains. “We are now there and we will start to receive tax assessment appeals.”
However, due to the expense and time involved, it is usually only commercial and larger property owners who appeal. When the county loses those appeals, the tax burden is shifted to smaller, residential property owners.
Set every July, the county's official CLR was 87.8 percent for 2005.
Rovegno favors a four-year reassessment cycle but was outvoted by his colleagues - Commissioners Bruce Barclay and Gary Eichelberger. The board last June voted 2-1 to scrap the reassessment cycle.
However, the majority team pledged to consider reassessment once the county's common level ratio dropped below 85 percent.
Barclay is on vacation and unavailable for comment. Eichelberger could not be reached by press time.
“I'm flexible to working with my colleagues on a policy that meets everyone's needs,” Rovegno says.
The county assessment office did its own reassessment in 2004 and officials say they need one year for “field work” and one year for appeals and certification.
Rovegno notes that county tax assessment officials predicted last year that the county's CLR would fall to 82.
