2023's TOP STORY: Reassessment plans roiled elections, occupied attention
Dec. 29—EDITOR'S NOTE — This is the last in series on the top five stories in Mercer County this year, as judged by The Herald. Previously stories focused on the 2023 National Roller Sports Championships held in Hermitage, development plans for the Shenango Valley Mall, the State Towers closure and Farrell athletics' departure from District 10 over racial targeting incidents.
READERS' POLL RESULT: 17.8% (second place)
When elected officials in school districts, municipalities and Mercer County calculate tax rates, they use property values set about 50 years ago.
Things change in a half century. New construction, renovations and demolitions all affect property values.
So the Mercer County commissioners began what appears to be a long-overdue process of reassessing the values of about 60,500 properties in the county. On Jan. 19, the commissioners approved advertising for bids from contractors who would perform on-site inspections for the reassessment.
About five months later, on May 18, the commissioners awarded the contract to Tyler Technology of Moraine, Ohio, at a cost of $3.804 million. The process will take about two years and the new property values will go into effect in 2027.
Five days later, voters in Mercer County cast their ballots in the municipal primary, with the county commissioners' offices near the top of local ballots. Three-term Commissioner Matt McConnell and two-term commissioner Scott Boyd, both Republicans opted not to run for re-election.
With two vacant seats in the majority party, reassessment was a prominent issue in both the primary and general elections in 2023. Six candidates sought two GOP nominations, with Ann Coleman and Bill Finley Jr. winning nominations.
The Democrats had an uncontested race, with both candidates — two-term incumbent Tim McGonigle and newcomer James McLusky winning nominations. Coleman, Finley and McGonigle won election in November. The three, and other countywide election winners, will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Tuesday in a ceremony at Courtroom 1 in the Mercer County Courthouse.
Tyler Technologies representatives have been in the field since August, although no one from the contractor will ask to enter anyone's home.
In October, District Attorney Peter C. Acker reported a scam, in which an imposter, purporting to be from Tyler Technologies, left door hangers on residents' homes asking to make appointments for in-home visits.
Resident concerns, expressed throughout the election season, focused on how reassessment would affect individual tax bills. And the answer is, it's complicated.
State law prohibits property taxing bodies — municipalities, school districts and the county — from using reassessment to adopt a backdoor tax increase. So, while millage rates will decrease precipitously, the total amount collected won't change appreciably.
That said, some people will end up paying more. Tyler Technologies officials estimated that the reassessment will increase taxes for about 30% of county residents. Another $30% will pay less, and the remaining 40% will have about the same tax burden after reassessment as they did before it.
Which residents will fall into which category? Well, that will be determined in a couple of years.
