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An ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending Article 209 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, entitled “Office of Property Assessments,” §5-209.05, entitled “Chief Assessment Officer, duties and responsibilities,” in order to establish a mechanism for ensuring continuity in the Chief Assessment Officer position.
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Whereas, the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 209, specifically establishes duties relating to property assessments that must be performed by a designated Chief Assessment Officer (see, e.g., §5-209.01 and §5-209.05); and
Whereas, in addition, Article 209 (specifically §5-209.05 and §5-209.06) create minimum qualifications and professional requirements for any individual to hold the Chief Assessment Officer position; and
Whereas, Section 5-209.05 also establishes the process by which the County Manager may hire a Chief Assessment Officer, and requires that the Manager’s choice of Chief Assessment Officer be unanimously approved by the “Property Assessment Oversight Board” which no longer exists; and
Whereas, the Council’s Special Committee on Assessment Practices, in reviewing the Gioffre v. Allegheny County litigation, has repeatedly noted that the County was without a Chief Assessment Officer meeting the qualifications established by the Administrative Code for nearly a full decade; and
Whereas, according to credible testimony presented to the Special Committee and in the Committee’s own judgment, at least some of the issues that occasioned the Gioffre litigation could have been abated (if not outright avoided) had a qualified Chief Assessment Officer been in place; and
Whereas, also according to credible testimony presented to the Special Committee and in the Committee’s own judgment, in order to be fully effective in impartially and uniformly applying assessment standards that directly impact the County’s taxpayers, the Chief Assessment Officer should be independent and fr...
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