Apr. 15—POTTSVILLE — Wearing a name tag and a fluorescent vest bearing the word VISION, Madison Newhouser walked up to a home on West Harrison Street on Wednesday and knocked on the door.
"My name is Madison. I am here with the Schuylkill County Reassessment Team," she said to the woman who answered.
She asked for permission to ask questions about the age of the house, how many bedrooms it has and utilities. Newhouser then inquired if she was permitted to take photos and measurements of the property. The woman agreed.
Newhouser gave her a paper with information about the property reassessment process and why it is being done.
Residents want to know about the process, she said.
"It's a scary thing" that involves money and taxes, Newhouser said.
About 20 minutes later, after using a tape measure and a laser measuring tool, and taking photos of the exterior of the property, she was done.
Newhouser and Charlie Kechula-Baker, who joined at the site Wednesday, are employees of Vision Government Solutions Inc., the Massachusetts-based company that the county commissioners hired in December to carry out the reassessment of about 95,000 properties. Field data collectors, of which there are 22, started the process March 15.
The reassessment, the first in the county since 1996, is required as part of the May settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Community Justice Project, a nonprofit that alleged the county's current tax assessment violates state law.
County commissioners voted in February to borrow $7,341,000 to pay for the reassessment.
No entry to homes
Newhouser and Kechula — Baker visited seven residential properties and two vacant lots Wednesday. Someone was home at three of the residential sites.
Even if someone is home and invite the data collectors in, they will not enter a home.
When no one is home, a clear plastic bag containing information about why they visited is hung on a door knob.
Employees wear a vest and identification, and their vehicles are marked.
If no one is home, exterior measurements and photos are still taken.
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.
Otherwise, "We don't open any gates or fences on backyards or side yards without the property owners' stated permission" because of privacy and safety concerns, said Tim Barr, project director for the reassessment.
Also, if a gate is closed leading to a driveway, they will not enter.
When a data collector visits a property and someone who is 18 or older is home, they will ask if they want to answer questions and if it's OK to photograph and measure the property.