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An ordinance amending the Administrative Code of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by providing that Chapter 205 relating to the Property Assessment Oversight Board be deleted in its entirety, abolishing said board; and providing for assumption of the duties of said board by the Chief Assessment Officer; and providing for the establishment of an independent review process prior to certification of assessments.
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WHEREAS, the Allegheny County Council wishes to improve the property tax certification process before the next reassessment; and
WHEREAS, the Administrative Services Committee, the Chief Assessment Officer, the Manager of the Office of Property Assessments and the Chairman of the Appeals and Review Board have discussed changes to the Oversight Board during the last year; and
WHEREAS, the Chairman of the Oversight Board has written that there is a need for an expert consultant to review property values before certification; and
WHEREAS, the Chairman of the Oversight Board has indicated that there is no need to review the 2003 property values because they duplicate the 2002 property values; and
WHEREAS, the Allegheny County Council and the public are confused as to the function of the Oversight Board and recognize that the Oversight Board certification is only a ceremonial process with no real purpose or value to the taxpayers of Allegheny County.
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Article II, Chapter 205 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County is deleted in its entirety. Upon its deletion, the Property Assessment Oversight Board shall be abolished.
Section 2. If a ratio study of the Countywide valuations of objects of taxation for the applicable tax year is required, then the Chief Assessment Officer shall submit the official property assessment valuations to an independent appraisal company for review and evaluation to ensure that it meets the IAAO Performance Standards. Certification of the assessment rolls shall not be made until written acknowledgement has been received from the independent appraisal company that the assessment valuations meet the IAAO Performance Standards.
Section 3. Upon receipt of written acknowledgement from the independent appraisal company that the assessment valuations meet the IAAO Performance Standards, the Chief Assessment Officer will certify the property assessment values to Allegheny County Council in written form.
Section 4. The Chief Assessment Officer shall be responsible for submitting a semi-annual report to the Allegheny County Council thru Council's Committee process and shall be available for questions regarding said report at the request of the Committee Chairman.
Section 5. The person holding the position of Chief Assessment Officer shall be appointed each year upon recommendation of the County Executive and confirmation by the seated majority of the County Council. There shall be no limit to the number of years a person may serve in the position of Chief Assessment Officer provided that their appointment is approved annually.
Section 6. This ordinance shall take effect immediately for the 2004 Certification and shall remain in effect as long as the Department of Property Assessment exists in its present form or until legislation that nullifies these provisions is enacted.
SECTION 7. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 8. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.