ASSESSMENT APPEALS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Assessment Office
Department of Finance and Administration
John Frazier, C.P.E., Chief Assessor Greene County Office Building, 2nd Floor
93 East High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370
Phone: 724-852-5211 / Fax: 724-852-5383
Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday
What are the Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals, Appeal hearing Rules?
Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals ~~ Appeal Hearing Rules:
Appeals may be filed each year on or before September 1st or within forty (40) days of the mailing date of a change of assessment notice.
Appeal shall be filed on appropriate form and filed with the Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals Room 202, Greene County Office Building, 93 East High Street, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania 15370.
All appeals shall be filed by any person who has a direct immediate, monetary and substantial interest in the subject matter. This may be the legal owner of record or equitable owner such as a lessee or buyer on land contract.
Upon filing an appeal, the Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals may proceed with discovery as described in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Failure to comply with a request for discovery within twenty (20) days prior to the hearing may result in the expert and his/her report being excluded from the hearing.
Any taxing district having an interest therein may file an appeal.
Notice of hearing date will be given to all interested parties at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing date.
The law requires the legal owner(s) or equitable owner of the real property shall attend the appeal hearing. Representatives, agents, fiduciaries or "et al. ownership must submit a power of attorney in the event all legal owner(s) cannot attend the hearing. The only exception is spouses who may represent each other should one not be able to attend the hearing. The power of attorney shall be filed with the Board no later than five (5) business days prior to the hearing date. In any event, at least one of the legal owners or equitable owners must be present at the hearing and present the primary testimony. Experts may be called upon to present supporting testimony.
The Board is not bound by strict rules of evidence. It may hear any and all evidence it considers helpful. The Board may choose not to receive valuation testimony from anyone other than the owner(s). All complete written appraisals shall be filed ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
In cases involving expert witnesses the written qualifications of the expert witness shall be submitted to the Board at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
All legal briefs must be submitted to the Board at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing. Failure to comply without good cause as determined by the Board may result in the legal brief not being accepted.
During the appeal hearing, the legal owner(s) shall state the basis for the appeal and make full and complete disclosure of information bearing on the property's market value.
Requests for continuance (change of hearing time and date) will be allowed where good cause is shown to the satisfaction of the Board. All requests for continuance shall be in writing at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
Failure to appear without good cause being shown to the satisfaction of the Board is grounds for dismissal of the appeal.
In all cases, the Board first takes judicial notice of value in the assessment Record. Thereafter, the taxpayer must present sufficient admissible evidence to contest the validity of the assessment. The taxpayer may present testimony and /or documentary evidence to meet this burden. All evidence presented is subject to cross-examination by the appropriate parties to the proceedings.
All evidence must be submitted into the record at the time of the appeal hearing. The Board will only consider evidence put into the record of the proceedings.
It is the recommendation of the Board that any commercial or industrial property or any residential property with a value in excess of $100,000 be accompanied by a certified appraisal performed for "fair market value" purposes. The Board may not accept appraiser's certificate or appraiser's letter stating only an opinion of value. When an appraisal report is to be used by the property owner(s), a signed original and two (2) copies shall be filed with the Board at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
Property owner(s) who suffers a catastrophic loss have the right to appeal the property assessment with the remainder of the county fiscal year in which the catastrophic loss occurred. Catastrophic loss is defined as loss of value due to mine subsidence, fire, flood or other natural disasters that affects the physical state of the property. The property owner(s) must prove by certified appraisal or repair estimates that the loss exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value prior to the loss. Losses less than the 50% requirement may be appealed for the following year.
The Appeal Hearing Rules shall be applicable to appeals instituted by taxing districts.
What are the uniform Procedures for hearings before the Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals?
The Uniform Procedures for Hearings before the Greene County Board of Assessment Appeals:
All appeal hearings will be open to the public and will be held in a place accessible to the public.
The order of testimony will be as follows:
The assessor shall place into the record the official assessment and location of the subject property.
The taxpayer then must present sufficient admissible evidence to rebut the prima facie validity of the assessment as entered into the record. All evidence presented is subject to cross-examination by the appropriate parties to the proceeding.
If the board finds that the taxpayer has failed to meet the burden of proof, the hearing then concludes. If the taxpayer meets the burden of proof, the assessor and the taxing authorities then have the right to present evidence to rebut that presented by the taxpayer. This evidence is also subject to cross-examination by the taxpayer.
The board may, during the proceeding, ask any relevant question that will aid in its determination of the case.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the board shall dismiss all parties, deliberate, and render a decision.
The notice of decision must be mailed within 5 days to all parties to the proceeding unless an extension is granted to the Board by the appellant. Such notice will state the date of the decision and must contain a mailing date for the notice.
The taxpayer and the taxing authorities have 30 days to appeal the decision of the board to the court of common pleas.
Today's date is:
For general information, please contact the Information Services at 724-852-5399 / Toll Free: 1-888-852-5399.
County Office Building, 93 E. High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370
