An Allegheny County Councilman is continuing his war against the court-ordered reassessment of all properties in the county.
Councilman Matt Drozd (R-District 1) said he'll hold a public seminar in Ross Township this Sunday on how to successfully appeal a reassessed property value. He offered to hold similar hearings in municipalities countywide.
The county's website also offers some instruction on how to appeal a new property value.
Drozd said he thinks all county residents should file for both an informal review and a formal appeal.
"If you even got an incremental increase, help their neighbors out by everybody in Allegheny County filing an appeal," said Drozd, "to voice their protest that they disagree with what happened here, they disagree with this ruling that came down, and they really want to not only help themselves, but they want to help their neighbors."
Drozd's comments were echoed by David Martin, Vice President of the Ross Economic Development Group.
"It is an obligation of every building, every parcel, every homeowner in Allegheny County to appeal this," said Martin. "It's easy to do, they just don't understand the process. Once the process is explained, they should [appeal], because they have the opportunity to go in and argue it down."
The appeals seminar runs from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday in the Ross Township Municipal Center.
Councilman Drozd blasted Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick for his ruling that the county must reassess the value of every property within its borders. He said the process will result in higher residential tax bills, saying it's caused "havoc" in Allegheny County.