Jul. 26—County residents will be selected to serve on an ad-hoc public advisory group to give suggestions and help others understand the reassessment process.
County Administrator Gary R. Bender said Tuesday that the commissioners will select the participants. Exact details of the committee haven't been finalized, he said.
"No specific meetings have been set," said Tim Barr, project director with Vision Government Solutions Inc.
A Massachusetts-based company, Vision was hired by the county commissioners for the reassessment.
Barr said quarterly meetings will likely be held. Among the functions the committee could have is to help educate the public and provide input into the reassessment process.
"This is common in reassessments to create such an advisory group," he said.
Meanwhile, Barr said, residents continue to cooperate in the effort to survey approximately 95,000 parcels for the countywide reassessment, the first such effort since 1996.
The reassessment is required as part of a May 2022 settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Community Justice Project, a nonprofit that alleged the county's current tax assessment violates state law.
The commissioners voted in February to borrow $7,341,000 to pay for the reassessment, with $6.6 million to cover the cost of the contract with Vision approved in December 2022.
On March 15, employees with vests and company identification began visiting properties in Pottsville.
Crews make exterior inspection measurements, take photographs and compile other data on each parcel.
According to a June 30 project update, the latest available, 13,227 residential properties in Mechanicsville, Mount Carbon, Palo Alto, Pottsville and Port Carbon boroughs, as well as Barry, Blythe, Cass, Foster, New Castle and Norwegian townships were verified.
Residents could soon see data collectors in Butler, Eldred, Hegins, Hubley, Upper Mahantongo and Porter townships, and Middleport, New Philadelphia and Tower City boroughs.
When visiting a home, Barr said, data collectors will not enter a property with a closed gate when no one is present.
If there is an unlocked fence gate at the front of a property, for example, data collectors will enter and knock on the front door. If no one is home, exterior measurements and photos are still taken, he said.
A plastic bag containing information about why assessors visited is hung on a door knob.
As of June 30, fewer than 300 residents have said they don't want the data collectors on their property, Barr said.
Since early May, he said, the reassessment team has also had Pictometry, a survey technique using aerial photography, to assist with data collection.