Thursday, December 20, 2001
Manatron Sabre Systems' local manager was hired for the assessor's office.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Lawrence County Salary Board created two positions in the county assessor's office and increased the salary of the chief assessor in an attempt to bring more money into county coffers.
Salary board members agreed to increase chief assessor Mary Bullano's annual salary to $45,000 from $38,950.
They also created a second assessor's position with the annual salary of $45,000 and a new appraiser's position with a salary starting at about $20,000.
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught said the new positions are needed to give the office enough manpower to look for property currently not on the county tax rolls.
Last summer, Manatron Sabre Systems, the Miamisburg, Ohio, company collecting data for countywide reassessment, found four homes built in the 1990s that had never been reported to the county assessor's office. Owners were paying taxes only on the land and not the structures, they said.
County assessment officials said that it was unusual for an entire house not to be on the tax rolls, but they admitted there are often building additions, swimming pools and other upgrades to houses that are not reported to their office.
Fosnaught said he hopes enough unassessed additions and building upgrades will be found in the next few months with the new assessment office staff members to offset a tax increase proposed for 2002.
The commissioners have proposed a 2-mill tax increase for the coming year's budget. One mill of tax generates about $450,000 for the county.
Hired: Commissioners quickly filled one of the positions after Thursday's meeting.
Mike Roth, who is directing Manatron Sabre Systems' county reassessment, was hired after the meeting to fill the assessor's position, Fosnaught said.
Roth, who lives in Ellwood City, is expected to start work Jan. 1, the commissioner said.
"It's a good natural fit for him. He can make sure the reassessment and implementation goes smoothly," Fosnaught said. Fosnaught has been critical of Manatron Sabre Systems' work, contending the company has refused to hand over work to a Pittsburgh firm hired to oversee it.
It's unclear who Sabre will replace Roth with for the reassessment work. Daniel Muthard, Sabre Systems president, could not be reached to comment Thursday afternoon.
Appraisers sought: Fosnaught said they don't have a candidate in mind for the other new job of appraiser. They hope to find someone who is a certified to evaluate property, he said.
Commissioners also will be looking for a second appraiser for that office. The current appraiser, Mary Ann Clark, is resigning Jan. 2, said Charleen Micco, county administrator and chief clerk.
Mary Ann Reiter, county controller, who is a member of the salary board along with the three county commissioners, voted against creating the two positions and the chief assessor's salary increase. She said she had no warning before Thursday's special meeting that these actions would be taken.
She urged other salary board members to wait until January for the regularly scheduled salary board to take action.
Fosnaught said the positions couldn't wait because he wanted to have someone in place immediately to look for unassessed property to add to the tax rolls for next year.
New position: In other business, salary board members agreed to create a part-time secretary's position for the county jury commissioner's office.
Court Administrator Philip Boudewyns explained that full-time secretary Shirley Jacobs is leaving the job as part of the county's early retirement incentive plan.
She has agreed, however, to come back on a part-time basis to help out, he said. She will work no more than 1,000 hours per year and earn her current hourly salary of $13.67 an hour.